A hasty turnaround

Woke up at about 4 o'clock this morning with the rain drumming down on the roof. Not a problem normally except that I hadn't put the coolie hat on the chimney which meant that water would be coming down the inside and making a right mess in the fire. So, out we go, perch on the edge of the boat to put the hat in place. It probably wouldn't have mattered too much but at least I could go back to sleep knowing that all was well. 

Still raining at breakfast time so we set off when it eased off a bit, through Leighton lock and then a long slow chug through Leighton Buzzard past a whole procession of moored boats. 

Our intention was to go as far as Grove Lock, have a look at the pub there and see if we wanted to stop for lunch. The pub looked OK from a distance but there was nowhere to moor, it was near to a main road and it all looked a bit scrubby. So, an amazing turn around (with no one around to applaud or witness this amazing feat of seamanship) and a return the way we had come. 

On the way down we had seen a hire boat stuck at the side of the canal where his engine had just stopped. So, having missed out on our pub lunch, we pulled up to see if we could help out. The captain did a magnificent job of getting us alongside while I nipped on board to have a nose around. The poor chap had got a boat canopy wrapped around the propeller but it was a bit more of a job than I could tackle. Anyway, we weren't far from the boat yard and they were sending someone out to sort it all out for them. Later in the day we saw them cheerily sailing past, so all's well that ends well. 

Another long slow chug back to where we had started and here's a picture of the captain steering the boat into Leighton Lock.

Unfortunately the boat nudged the other gate open so I had to push the back of the boat across the lock so that the captain could nip off and close it for me. 

We then went about 1/4 mile to The Globe Inn where, believe it or not, we stopped for lunch after all. No photos but we had a lovely Sea Bass risotto and in far nicer surroundings than before. 

After lunch we motored on another mile and stopped just short of Soulbury Three Locks for the night. A tad noisy on the mooring as we are close to a main road but, hey ho, can't be worse that rain at 4 in the morning. Can it? Perhaps it can, I've just heard a train go past as well!