Hawkesbury Junction to Braunston

Fri 30th Sep  Hawkesbury Junction to Brownsover

Hawkesbury Junction

We moored outside the Greyhound to use the facilities where we found general waste bins and two large bins for recycling. Sadly they were full of black bin liners and ordinary rubbish.  It is high time the boating fraternity got their act together in the recycling department.

We noticed that the Greyhound was open before 9am, and asked what was happening. “Oh we are serving breakfast for McMillan Day!”  What a shame we didn’t see anything about that last night when we were in there.

We went up through the lock, raising the level by a dizzying two inches. We were now on the Oxford Canal.

Stop Lock

There were plenty of visitor moorings available, with rings and piling, but we found a hire boat moored on a bend just afterwards, at the narrowest part, with a bush opposite. They had had to bang in their mooring spikes.

Pinch point

Ponies

Hugo

The noisy M6 accompanies the canal for six miles, and then the railway runs alongside until after Rose Narrowboats at Stretton Stop, so we never moor anywhere along here until we get to Brinklow. 

Rose Narrowboats

Brinklow Arm

Tomorrow (Saturday) is forecast to be wet, so this time we moved on past Brinklow and through Newbold Tunnel, another five miles to Brownsover so that we could be within range of some shops and a decent church for Sunday.

Newbold Tunnel

Newbold Tunnel looking back

We managed to find a space on the left just after the bridge, where the bow line had a ring, and the stern line was through a helpful piece of rope that someone had put there on the concrete piling.  The position was ideal for Hugo, who disappeared off into the bushes.  The local ducks who had been sunbathing on the grass made a beeline for the canal.

Ducks in a row

Hazel went to M&S.  James laid a fire for later.

Sat 1st Oct  Brownsover

Rain

It was wet as forecast. We lit the fire and had a leisurely breakfast of scrambled eggs and smoke salmon.  James did some odd jobs including replacing our carbon monoxide alarm and putting up a new scratch pad on the wall for Hugo.

A wet day in Brownsover

Later, the rain stopped and we went to Tesco for some provisions.  James also explored where the bus stops are for the morning. Thankfully there is a no 4 bus which runs every 20 minutes on a Sunday.

No boating today

Sun 2nd Oct  Brownsover to Hillmorton

Our fire was still going this morning, although we closed it down when the sun warmed up the boat.

Smoking chimney

Wren’s Nest went past and we spotted a fish on the side, but they are not in the BCF directory. What a shame we didn’t see that yesterday as we could have made contact.

We walked down to Tesco where we caught a bus into Rugby and went to visit New Life Church.  We ha d a good welcome, and the church is progressive and growing. The worship was a little repetitive for us, although many people were responding.

New Life Church

We popped into a Polish supermarket afterwards and bought some cooked meat from their deli counter, before taking the bus back to Brownsover.

We had lunch at the Bell and Barge, a Harvester. They seem to specialise in rotisserie chicken, which was very good.

The Bell and Barge

We decided to move on, but first we used the water tap that appears to have been moved from its previous position through the road bridge, nearly opposite the Harvester.

Water tap

We were hoping to pick some plums from the tree that overhangs the canal by bridge 66, but it was too late in the season.

Our chosen mooring by bridge 68 was occupied, so we moved on half a mile a mile further and stopped just before the Hillmorton visitor moorings. We had a nice view, and some piling to tie to, but there was some train noise.  At the end of the day there were four boats in a row here.

Four boats

Dusk

0 locks, 2 miles

Mon 3rd Oct  Hillmorton to Braunston

We had fog first thing this morning, and a lot of dew.  After a short while the fog cleared and we had bright sunshine and blue sky.

Foggy morning

A boat was going up in the right hand lock in front of us, so we used the left lock. The locks are in pairs here at Hillmorton.  There was a boat that looked as though it was about to come down, so the boat in the right lock left it open for him, and then they turned sharply to port, going into the boatyard.  Strangely, the boat coming down did the same thing and followed him in.

The boatyard at Hillmorton

At the middle pair of locks, there was boat coming down on the right, and we used the lock on the left, which was empty.  James closed the gate for the other boat.

Hillmorton Locks

At the third set of locks, two people already there opened the gates on the right lock for us, as they were waiting for their lock to fill.  Having paired locks is a great help and speeds things up a lot. People help each other a lot more. It would be good if the Cheshire Locks on the Trent and Mersey could be restored to fully operating pairs in the same way.

Hillmorton Top Lock

We were interested to see Horus moored on the Barby moorings. We had moored next to them in Nottingham. 

Horus

After Barby Straight we crossed under the M45 into lovely rural countryside. We decided not to go right into Braunston today, but to stop on a mooring with a view and some sunshine, to let our washing dry.

Hugo was immediately off ashore hunting in the hedge.

Our mooring by bridge 87

3 locks, 6 miles

Next: Left at Braunston Turn, through Braunston and left again at Norton Junction, to head for Crick and Yelvertoft, where we are due to sing at the weekend.