Wed 3rd May Circus Field Basin to Marsworth
Weather check this morning: light cloud
We managed to get away after all the household checks had been completed, and bags of this and that transferred to the boat.
We started the engine and put on the central heating, as the boat was cold after several weeks being unoccupied. Thankfully everything seemed to work OK. After putting down the hood, and disconnecting the electric lead, we were ready to go.
Andy kindly raised the lift bridge for us as we reversed out of the canal basin, and and set off up the Aylesbury Arm, saying farewell to several friends as we left.
After more than a mile we came to Red House Lock, where there has been work going on, and evidently, a new beam for the top gate. This was extremely difficult to open, and James couldn’t manage it by himself, even when the lock was completely full, with water running over the bottom gate. It needed a hefty shove from the boat bows to get it to open. Fortunately, we were going upstream and were able to use the boats bow fender to push. It seems that the new lock beam is too short. Compare it to the photo of the top gate at Gudgeon Stream Lock no 9.
Bates Yard
We had planned to moor at Black Jack’s Lock no 4, but we were doing well, and Hazel felt that we should carry on to Marsworth, as the weather was forecast to be less good tomorrow. We were soon at the staircase locks and then Marsworth Junction.
We noticed that there were many more boats moored here than
is usually the case, probably because there are facilities here. The lockdown
due to Covid has meant that CRT have waived the 14-day rule, so moorers can
stay indefinitely at the moment. Thankfully, a little further on, there was a
space for us, with mooring rings. Rain was starting as we were tying up, so the
timing was perfect.
Busy moorings
Our mooring at Marsworth in the rain
14 locks, 5 miles, 1 lift bridge. Dep 1100, arr 1525.
It rained for a lot of the night, so the towpaths were soft and boggy today. As we were getting ready to leave, a boat came past, so we asked them if they wanted to share locks. This was excellent timing, as we saw no other boats moving either way for the rest of the day.
Their boat was to be renamed So Lucky and the two guys were Tim and Rick. They were heading for Grove Lock for some diesel. Rick’s mother was in a care home, suffering with dementia, and one of her phrases that she said again and again, was “I’m so lucky”. There is a reason for every boat name.
We shared the two Marsworth Locks with them, and then we found Vanguard moored up. As we passed, Sharon said they had a mechanical problem and Ray had gone to get a part. Later we found that it was a replacement alternator that was required.
We continued sharing with So Lucky, through the swing bridge and the three Seabrook Locks. We moored up after the first Ivinghoe Lock, as James had a school reunion on Zoom. The mooring is very remote, with a good view across to the Whipsnade Lion in better weather.
We enjoyed the evening song of a blackbird outside our window, and we spotted a wren on the towpath this morning. After dark we heard a tawny owl.
The school reunion was the first one that James has been to since he left that school in 1967. As it covered all people who left the school before 1970, there were only a few that were there at the same time as James, and only one from the same boarding house at the same time. He, at least, remembered James, not for excelling at anything in particular, but for the end of final term prank that James organised. On the final day of the summer term, all the teaching staff lined up on the stage of the large hall, and all the 600 boys were in the auditorium. The headmaster, wearing his mortar board and robes, read out, in a boring fashion, all the names of the prize winners in the various subjects, and in the sports competitions. It was very tedious, and to liven things up, James and a colleague had devised a diversion. Ten minutes after the headmaster had started talking, a large hairy toy spider, tarantula sized, descended from the roof on a length of fishing line, carefully measured so that it started up again from a point six inches above the mortar board. The head boy and a couple of prefects rushed through the door that led to the stairs to the roof, but they found no-one, just the equipment. It was done with a small electric motor, a battery, and a wind-up alarm clock which had terminals connected to the hands, and could therefore only be set half an hour before the event. What a joyous day that was! It was James’s only claim to fame at that school.
6 locks, 3 miles, 1 swing bridge. Dep arr 1155
Fri 5th May Ivinghoe to Leighton Buzzard
A cloudy but cold day today with no sun, no snow, no ice, no rain – no weather at all, really.
The hedge here was a good place to dispose of some soil and dead stalks from our plant pots, before we set off. We heard a green woodpecker not far away.
Ivinghoe bottom lock was, surprisingly, in our favour. We
had expected it to be against us, as Tim and Rick had gone down yesterday, and
nothing had come past since. Presumably, the top gate leaked more than the
bottom gate.
The next lock was Horton Lock, with several boats moored. We don’t choose to moor here as there is a strong aroma from the cowsheds and pigs in the farm opposite.
Slapton Lock soon followed, and then the mile and a half pound to Church Lock. Surprisingly, we met a boat here, and then, at Bridge 118, we met a second boat, and we both had to engage reverse. We had timed it badly, as there is only one bridge on this length.
We needed to buy some more coal, as the journey had been extended by three days due to the Leighton Lock closure. We decided to buy some from Grove Lock Marina, so we pulled in there. It all looked very deserted despite a large sign advertising coal for sale. We rang the number, and discovered that they only work on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. As today was Friday, that didn’t help. We decided, as a plan B, to buy some 10kg bags from Tesco or Aldi.
We paused at the Leighton facilities to empty a cassette. We didn’t need water. Just through the bridge we found Tudor on Out ‘n About. Most of the moorings were taken, but there were two spaces still available.
We saw two Jule’s Fuels boats moored up outside Tesco, so
we bought two bags of Excel from them. They have been held up for days, because
a delay at the Ivinghoe Locks meant they couldn’t get through Leighton before
the lock closed.
Hazel went shopping in Aldi and Tesco, while James took a number 150 bus to Aylesbury and back to retrieve our secondary glazing discs which we didn’t think we would need. When we put them in the portholes, the difference was immediate. The draughts were reduced to almost nil, and the boat felt a lot warmer. Thanks to Terry Rigden of nb Grace for the design.
We have discovered, since we arrived, that the navigation could be open tomorrow after all. This hasn’t been announced in the stoppage notices, but the word on the towpath says we can go tomorrow. We’ll wait and see. If this is true, it will help us a lot, as we will arrive in Weedon mid-week, instead of a weekend when the buses don’t run.
Moored in Leighton Buzzard
5, locks, 5 miles. Dep 0950, arr 1230.
Next: taking our turn in the lock queue
north, heading for Milton Keynes. Will there be volunteers on the locks at
Three Locks?
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