Why such a long gap between blogs?
We have had three months without a boat, living in our apartment. To begin with, the weather was cold, so we were content not to be boating. We were also in the second lockdown, so we couldn’t do much apart from occasional walks, plus visits to supermarkets. Cafes and pubs were allowed to serve people outside, so we had two visits to More+, our church café. The first occasion was very windy, and the plastic top blew off James’ coffee cup, and Colin had to run fast to fetch it back. On the second occasion it started to rain, and we sat there getting wet.
The weather changed in the middle of May, and we had some glorious sunny days. Then, on May 17th, some restrictions were lifted, and we were allowed to meet others in their homes, and pubs and restaurants were allowed to serve meals inside. We took advantage of this immediately, by having a pub meal for Hazel’s birthday. We selected the Old Thatched Inn in Adstock, near Buckingham. We had a lovely lunchtime meal, and then went to explore Buckingham. We visited the Old Gaol, which is now the town museum.
We also went out the following week on our 46th anniversary to the Churchill Arms in Long Crendon, where they have a lovely Thai menu.
We made a few visits, and had several visitors, including Oliver, Amanda, Greg and Jessy, Maggie and Clive, plus Jose and Lili from our old church in Weybridge. It was good to catch up after a long time. We could not fit in too many, as our boating season started once again. With the fine weather, we were eager to get back on the canals.
Mon 7th Jun Weedon to Bugbrooke
Our boat has had several jobs done, including mending the bow thruster, fitting new solar panels, and a re-paint. We had made two visits to check progress and on each occasion we were expecting the work to be further on. We were anxious that we might not have a boat in time for the mission at Water Eaton.
We arrived as arranged today to collect the boat and start heading south for our rendezvous. We had a lot of “stuff” in our car, including two large folding chairs, two plant pots for the roof, guitars, laptops, clothes, food, etc. We discovered that there were still several jobs to be done, including installing the rack for the new ladder plank and boat poles. Grills for vents still had to be fixed, and the porthole surrounds had not been replaced. Fixings for the bow cover had not been reinstated either, so the rest of the day was spent getting these jobs done.
Lily May went past with Adam and Michael from ACS. We then saw them walking back, heading for the Navigation Inn.
We finally left very late, waving to Adam and Michael at the pub as we passed, and as the days are long, we managed to get to our intended stop near Bugbrooke. There is an active badger sett here, and James spent the evening using the stern as a hide, hoping the badgers would appear on the towpath. They didn’t, but it was lovely watching bats, and listening to owls. There is another hole further along and they probably used that one instead.
The badger sett and the boat moored at
Bugbrooke
Sadly, James lost his secateurs over the side at one point today. We’ll need to get some more.
The flags are out
We had installed our tunnel light in it’s socket at the bows, and we tested it, and found that it did not come on. This was important, as we had Blisworth Tunnel to negotiate. We moored up again by Heyford Fields Marina, and James checked it out. As he moved the cable, it came on, so we decided to leave it alone, and have a proper look another time.
We passed Ayup, and had a brief chat with Ken (miraculously, James remembered his name) as we passed. We had last seen him several years ago in Middlewich.
Turnover Bridge near
Gayton Junction
The canal was noticeably quiet, and as we passed Gayton Junction, there were no boats at the facilities – very unusual. We didn’t need to stop either, so we continued past the lovely old warehouse at Blisworth before arriving at the entrance to Blisworth Tunnel.
Thankfully, the tunnel light worked, and we took 26 minutes to go through. We met one boat just three minutes before emerging at the far end. The tunnel was wet as usual, and a look at the boat roof would lead you to believe we had been in a rain shower.
We moored up in Stoke Bruerne, and caught up briefly with Kathryn, who was busy shuffling duties in the café and on the locks with online meetings. We had a drink at the Boat Inn, where Hazel was asked to sign a sheet, as she hadn’t got the NHS app, even though James was able to scan the QR code. Because of loud music, we elected to have our drinks in the marquee where it was quiet, even though the tables had bench seats with no back support. After two minutes the loud music was switched on in the marquee as well, so we had to ask them to turn it down. The staff were having difficulty keeping up with demand as it was a hot day, and there were lots of visitors, so no-one came to take our payment. We could have walked out without paying, and when we took the bill to the bar, they said they weren’t allowed to take payment at the bar, but at the table! They graciously bent the rules.
We had a look in the museum while we
there, still being refurbished.
Back at the boat, we rested up until the day cooled off, and we set off down the locks at around 5pm. Kathryn came to see us off, as did Mike, the operator of the trip boats.
There were two boats coming up from the lock below, so the second lock was in our favour.
After the long pound, there were two more boats coming up, so the rest of the locks were also in our favour. We were joined by a boat called with Juniper, with two young guys, who moor in the new marina in Milton Keynes. This made it easier, as sometimes the top gates swing open by themselves. The final two locks were difficult to open, and we needed all our strength to get the gates moving. The flight of seven locks took us 1 hour and 20 minutes.
We saw a lady called Elizabeth who is travelling by canoe down the Thames and up the Grand Union. Barbara Froggatt met her in Reading as she passed through, and Chris Buck met her a few days ago. We also passed a boat called Somang, with Paul and Kim Hutchinson of BCF. They are also Waterways Chaplains.
How lovely it is to be cruising again, meeting up with people, and watching the wildlife. We saw buzzards, kestrels and lapwings today.
We stopped just after Bridge 61 at Yardley Gobion.
7 locks, 12 miles. Dep 0955, arr SB 1230. Dep 1715, arr 1945
Wed 9th Jun Yardley Gobion to Stanton Low Park
As we departed today, we noticed that the willows were shedding white fluff everywhere. Also, most of the hawthorn coming out now seems to be pink.
We travelled south along the quiet canal, soon reaching the ornate “Solomon’s Bridge” at Cosgrove. A boater asked if we were going through the lock, so we said, “After using the facilities”. They waited for us, and we shared the lock with them. The boat name was Plain Lazy. They live in Cyprus, and have been unable to return there due to the Covid pandemic.
Sharing Cosgrove Lock with Plain Lazy
Cosgrove Aqueduct
Over the Great Ouse
We had a slow cruise along the embankment and the iron trunk aqueduct, ending up at Wolverton for some shopping. Whilst there, Ayup went past. We put out the washing to dry, and visited Tesco, Asda, and Farm Foods. Tesco only sold pairs of secateurs in packs of two, and we only need one pair.
Back at the boat, the washing was dry. When it was all away, we set off once more, and were squeezed into a hedge by a hire boat who should have waited. New paintwork probably now scratched already! It had to happen sooner or later.
Leaving Wolverton
We refrained from taking yet another picture of the long railway mural! After Bridge 74 there were a lot of boats moored, and we thought we might have trouble finding a spot. However, there was a space just for us in just the right place, overlooking the ruins of St Peter’s Church, as we had planned.
Wildlife today: young families of swans, moorhens, and
ducks.
1 lock, 6 miles. Dep 0945, arr 1130 Wolverton. Dep 1345, arr 1430 Stanton Low.
Next: Our journey to the mission at
Water Eaton, and some buses to retrieve our car.
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