Weedon to Cosgrove

Thu 9th September  Weedon to Stoke Bruerne

We left Weedon, going past Grand Union Narrowboats, but there was no sign of Steve. We continued through Stowehill, where the diesel price at Rugby Boats was slightly higher than we had paid at Nether Compton. We won’t need fuel now until we get back to Aylesbury.

Grand Union Narrowboats

No need for fuel at Rugby Boats

We passed a line of CRT workboats, with no-one using them

Birds on a wire

This kingfisher posed for us

At Gayton Junction we tied up at the facilities,  and took the opportunity to take a few things off the roof and clean the boat with the aid of a hose.

Gayton Junction

Facilities

As we passed the wonderful warehouse at Blisworth it started to rain. This took us by surprise, as it had not been forecast. We usually get wet inside Blisworth Tunnel, but this time we were already wet.

Blisworth warehouse

Wet approach to the tunnel

Meeting boats in the tunnel

When, after 30 minutes, we emerged the other side, the sun was shining again! We moored as close as we could to the village, as Kathryn had an injured leg and couldn’t walk very far.

Moored in Stoke Bruerne

Boat horses in the field

We arranged to meet Kathryn in the café, where we had a good catch up.

With Kathryn in Stoke Bruerne.

0 locks, 11 miles, 1 tunnel. Dep 0905, arr 1325.

Fri 10^th September  Stoke Bruerne to Cosgrove

A wet morning in Stoke Bruerne

A pollarded tree

It was raining slightly first thing, so we waited for it to stop before setting off. James had a chat with the other James on Tranquil Rose. Apparently, James had bought the boat from Mike, who now runs the trip boat in Stoke Bruerne. Mike had bought it from Steve Furniss who runs Grand Union Narrowboats in Weedon.

Kathryn came to bid us farewell as we came past her house into the top lock. At the second lock down, we were offered assistance by a volunteer called Bradley, who helped us a lot by going forward to set the lock each time. We had the flight to ourselves, and when we reached the bottom lock, there was a boat waiting to come up, so we left the gates open for them.

Top Lock with Kathryn

Top Lock

Passing the Navigation Inn

Bradley the volunteer.

We made good use of the facilities, cleaning the other side of the boat with a hose.

Facilities at Stoke Bruerne

On the way from there to Cosgrove, we saw a buzzard being mobbed by at least 25 crows. Who’d want to be a buzzard? We also spotted a kestrel. The we met Ray and Sharon on Vanguard, but sadly we only had time for a quick hello as we passed each other.

Crows mobbing

Buzzard

Kestrel

Ray and Sharon on Vanguard

We moored in Cosgrove, where there are rings. It was mostly peaceful, except for a large flock of Canada Geese in front of us.

Moored in Cosgrove

Canada Geese in abundance

7 locks, 6 miles. Dep 0950, arr bottom lock 1105. Dep 1145, arr Cosgrove 1330

Next: continuing our journey south down the Grand Union, seeing Chris and Sally in Milton Keynes tomorrow. Aiming to be back in Aylesbury by Wednesday 15^th.

Napton to Weedon

Tue 7th September  Napton to Braunston

We set off early, hoping to avoid convoys on the lock-free section to Braunston. We also hoped to travel while it was cool.

Leaving our Napton mooring by nb Aldgate

The Napton windmill

We passed the house that used to be the Bridge Inn, a popular pub a few years ago. We passed Napton Narrowboats, where there were very few boats left at the base – they are all out for hire.

The Bridge Inn that was

Passing empty berths at Napton Narrowboats

At Wigrams Turn, the Oxford Canal joins the Grand Union for a few miles, until they separate again at Braunston Turn.

Wigrams Turn

The Grand Union to Birmingham

Back to widebeam territory

Approaching Braunston Turn

We needed to visit Midland Chandlers, so we turned right at the junction, and then reversed up to the mooring, which is opposite the triangle at Braunston Turn. We bought some draught excluder for the side doors. We also emptied two cassettes at the facilities next door.

Moored at Midland Chandlers

Braunston Turn

We started our slow tickover run through Braunston, being ready for other boaters doing strange things, like stopping in front of you, or going in reverse, or turning in to one of the two entrances to the marina. We found a mooring just where we wanted to be, in some shade, after the footbridge up to the village.

After a cold drink, we climbed the steep path and visited the butchers and the convenience store. James found some proper English plums, rather than the dark red, picked too early, hard as nails things that are often sold as ready to eat.

Back on the boat, we sat out the heat of the day in the shade.

Shady mooring in Braunston

Richard and Elizabeth Martin (BCF) went past on Dutch Courage. Strangely we had met them yesterday in the Folly at Napton, where they had gone by car.

Richard Martin on Dutch Courage

When it cooled down a bit, we decided to go up the locks. We shared with a hire boat, and they were not sure whether to visit the Nelson or not. There was space for them between locks 2 and 3, where there is piling, but they decided to carry on. They moored instead above lock 2, where they had to bang in mooring spikes.

Sharing Lock 1

In lock 5 we met two boats coming down, one of which had a group of young men who had been drinking heavily. Loud music and shouting.

In the top lock, there was one boat coming down, with a crew of four. One guy was hauling the boat manually into the lock. He didn’t stay on board despite James offering to lock him through. When the lock was empty, he hauled the boat out again, very slowly, before starting the engine. We could then go into the lock.

Boat hauling

Braunston Top Lock

There was no space available on the visitor moorings above the lock, and the section a little further along had several streams running into the canal through pipes. We decided to move on through the tunnel, and we moored just before Bridge 6 at Welton Wharf.

Braunston Tunnel

Hazel at the helm

Into the tunnel

Leaving the tunnel Eastern Portal

We moored in the shady wooded cutting, and we heard owls later.

6 locks, 9 miles. Dep 0725, arr 0955 Midland Chandlers. Dep 1015, arr 1035 Bridge 1. Dep 1650, arr 1850 Welton Wharf.

Wed 8^th September  Welton to Weedon

Our mooring near Welton Wharf

In sight of the tunnel

We managed a very early start, before breakfast, to avoid the heat of the day on the locks.

Early morning cruise at Bridge 8

Norton Junction

The Leicester Arm

As we arrived at the top lock at Buckby, we saw that it was empty, with the bottom gates left open. We hoped we weren’t behind someone else going down and leaving gates open. Nothing was coming up, so we reset the lock. These must be the heaviest lock gates in the land.

Leaving Top Lock 7 and the A5

Thankfully, all the other locks were in our favour, as we descended the flight, past the noisy M1. We met one boat coming up, and there was one waiting at the bottom lock.

Leaving Lock 8

Overgrown steps

Entering Lock 9

We moored up and went to the Lockgate Café at Whilton Marina for a full English, which was delightful. We popped next door to the chandlery and established that they had gas in stock, so we moved across the canal to their fuel pontoon, and collected a bottle. Gas has not always been available this year as they are running short of gas bottles, apparently.

We set off once more for a further hour’s sunny boating to Weedon, where we moored on rings in the shade. Later the sun moved round, and it became very warm.

Sunny morning and welcome shade

Under the A5 again

Bideford out of the water

We went for a meal at the Indian restaurant Brinjol, where they offer a banquet special on Sundays and Wednesdays, for £10.95. Starter, Main, side dish and rice or nan. Very good value and lovely food.

We followed this with our weekly Canal Ministries Zoom meeting.

Moored at Weedon

7 locks, 6 miles. Dep 0630, arr 0850 Whilton Marina. Dep 0950, arr 1100 Weedon.

Next: continuing our journey south down the Grand Union, seeing Kathryn in Stoke Bruerne and Chris and Sally in Milton Keynes.