Stars in their eyes

Golly, a slow old day today.

A fairly cold start to the day but we are moored in a cutting just before Crick Tunnel. 

We are just hanging about to let an oncoming boat clear the tunnel entrance. There's nothing more annoying than a boat entering just as you're about to exit. Both boats have to come almost to a standstill while they slide gently (one hopes) past each other. Much better to wait a few moments and then charge on into the darkness. 

As we entered the tunnel I could see the headlamp of another boat coming through and I did wonder whether or not to wait for this boat as well. I'm glad I didn't because it was a hireboat creeping along and hugging the wall. We got nearly three quarters of the way through before gently sliding past each other. No bangs, no scrapes, no rude words either.

Came out the other end and, voilà, clear skies and sunshine. Still a chilly wind but at least it's sunny.

Even the farmer is out in the sunshine. A harrowing job.

Now the next picture needs a lot of imagination. We are going under the M1 just as a lorry passes the gap in the hedge. Missed it!

And here we are at the top of the Watford flight. Similar in principle to Foxton but not in a straight line.

The lock keeper told us that there would be about an hours wait. A film crew from Channel 5 were coming up the flight in a steam powered boat with 'celebrities' and cameras and sound equipment, all of which had to be placed correctly before they could proceed. We were asked not to name the celebrities on social media but we managed to get several photos. 

There's one.

And another.

And yet another.

And here they are having a bite of lunch.

As they were coming up one of the earlier locks, one of the celebrities dropped his windlass into the water by one of the lockgates. I wandered down that way, having nothing better to do than wait for their boat to come up the flight, and, with my trusty sea magnet, fished it out for them. Now, all I intended doing was to hand it back, have a good old laugh about it and get on our way. But no! This was the highlight of their day. This was filmworthy. Would I care to wait around and be filmed handing it over? It would have been rude not to have accepted the invitation, wouldn't it? 

So, we had to let several boats go down the flight while we waited for an appropriate break in the schedule so that I could go and return the windlass, explain about having a sea magnet and dragging the captain in for a photo with the stars of the show. I said it was a slow old day.

At last we set off down the flight.

And yet another delay while the maintenance volunteers painted the end posts which can only be reached when the gates are open.

I had been warned that these gates leaked but this is quite a waterfall.

 

2 1/2 hours later we are at the bottom. It would usually only take on hour at the most. 

And, just around the corner, I managed to catch a sighting of a lorry trundling round the back of Watford Services, we're that close. The captain didn't warm to the suggestion that we nip over the fence for a bite of lunch. 

Oh, and just look at the detail on the railway bridge. Not just plain concrete sides when this was built.

Moored up just past Welton Haven Marina about 4 miles from where we started this morning.