Goodbye Bugbrooke

Monday 8th April

Well, we've gone and done it! We've reversed out of Bugbrooke Marina for the last time. 

If you know where to look you can just see Peter, affectionately known as the harbour master, who helped us out on to the cut. It's always been tight getting in and out with me stepping off the back of the boat to push it round. Narrowboats are good at going backwards and forwards but don't like going sideways, unless there's a strong wind and loads of people watching!

So we set off past the Wharf Inn and along the cut to Heyford Fields Marina where the swans are already setting up home.

We poodled along past all our old haunts, waved to Robert at Stowe Hill Workshop.

And then through Weedon, all the time recalling events over the past 10 years in this area. 

Eventually we arrived at Buckby Locks just after lunchtime, hoping to buddy up with another boat to help us through. No such luck. 

Ah well, off we go.

That's one benefit of locking, you do get a break while the lock's filling. Most of the time I get a break just standing on the back of the boat but, hey ho, that's life. Anyway, Brigid doesn't like navigating the big locks whereas I'm quite happy to get the boat in the lock and then climb a ladder, rope in hand, and help with opening the gates. By which time, the boat has risen to my level and I just hop back on board. 

Having said 'no luck' sharing the locks, we were fortunate to have the help of a volunteer lockkeeper early on and there were plenty of boats coming down the flight. So, most of the locks were set in our favour and we cleared the whole flight in record time. 

We had planned to stop just below the top lock but, as the New Inn doesn't open Mondays, we decided to push on a little further.

That's it, top lock nearly there.

We motored on up the Leicester section of the Grand Union Canal and found a sheltered place to moor just past Weltonfield Narrowboats. 

Snug for the night, fire alight and let's see what the wind does in the morning.