Sun 3rd
Apr St Peters Church to Old Wolverton
Early morning near St Peters Church
After a
mild night we set off in time for a busy day. We had two miles to go before
church, and we headed through Bradwell, and across the Grafton Street Aqueduct,
built in 1991.
Crossing the Grafton Street Aqueduct
Wolverton
Park, a development of apartments on the right and small businesses on the
left, utilising one of the old railway carriage sheds.
Wolverton Park
We moored
up on rings and walked across the new canal bridge to visit Kings Church. This
must be the fifth time we have visited, over several years, and we get
recognised now. There was a good song we
hadn’t heard before – Victor’s Crown, by Darlene Zschech and others. In previous decades, a song used to be by one
person, but these days it is usually a collaboration of several authors.
The talk
was all about our plans in relation to God’s plans, and how God sees the wider
picture. When our plans get frustrated, there is usually a reason. How appropriate this was for us after last
week’s abandoned departure on Monday, and then we met Graham on Tuesday at the
first lock. Because we didn’t have guests as we had planned, we were able to
invite him on board, talk to him about the church in Aylesbury, and give him a
leaflet. If our own plans had prevailed, that seed would not have been sown.
Kings Church
After the
church service, which ended just after noon, we went to the bus stop and caught
a number 6 to Stony Stratford, and found our way to the Vaults Bar at the Bull
Hotel, where we had learned there was to be a “session”. We arrived just on 1230 when the event was
due to start, but we found it already in full swing. We were made welcome, and shown to two seats right
in the middle of things. Fiddles, concertinas, guitars, ukuleles, a hammered dulcimer
and an auto harp. All great fun. We sang Low Bridge, Dorset Juggernaut, and the
Banks of the Ohio, all well received.
The added bonus was Old Rosie Cider on draught.
Session in the Vaults Bar
It
finished soon after 3pm, and by the time we had packed up our instruments we
had to run for the bus at 3.29, which we just caught. This delivered us to
Tesco in Wolverton in time for last minute shopping, before departing on the
boat once more for a further mile to more open moorings in Old Wolverton by the
Galleon.
0 locks, 3
miles.
Mon 4th
Apr Wolverton to Grafton Regis
We had a
lot of duck activity in the night. At
one point one was continually quacking about a hundred times a minute,
regularly like a pump or a slow machine gun. Others were hammering their beaks
against the side of the boat in an attempt to eat the green weed that is
growing there at the waterline. Despite that we had a good night’s sleep.
Moored at Old Wolverton
The Iron Trunk Aqueduct
Looking down to the Great Ouse
The straight mile from Wolverton to
Cosgrove
We crossed
the iron trunk aqueduct at Cosgrove, and as we approached the lock we could see
that there was a boat already going up in front of us. They were very slow. The
guy was insisting on doing everything himself, even though the lady was keen to
take a part. They had one top gate open.
Her: “Shall I untie the rope?” Him: “No,
not yet”, as he slowly wound down the paddles, and then untied the rope
himself. Her: “Shall I put on some power to start moving the boat
forward?” Him: “No, not yet” as he
started pulling the boat forward through the open gate, using the rope. Me: “Don’t worry about closing the gate –
I’ll do it”
They slowly
puttered off and round the corner. We
hoped we wouldn’t catch them up. The time it took us to come up through the
lock should give them a decent head start.
At the
facilities block we found another boat filling up with water. When asked how
long he was likely to be he said about half an hour, as his tank was nearly
empty, and the tap was slow. We decided
to postpone the exercise until the bottom of the Stoke Bruerne locks. We
emptied a cassette and the rubbish and were on our way again, under Solomon’s
Bridge. Cosgrove village looks pleasant, with an old pub, and a horse tunnel
under the canal. We have never stopped there, but maybe next time.
Cosgrove
Soon after
Thrupp Wharf the canal felt very slow, there were a lot of trees encroaching on
the off side, and a wave was cresting, indicating shallow water. We met a wide
beam hotel boat, and had to wait while they passed, as there was bush sticking
out from the towpath, and there wasn’t room for all of us.
Wide hotel boat
We had an
uneventful but pleasant journey through open countryside, past Yardley Gobion
until, just up ahead, a familiar sight appeared. The boat from the lock at
Cosgrove! Thankfully they decided to
pull over for an early lunch and we passed them. We didn’t go much further ourselves, mooring
at Graft Regis, with lovely views across the valley, with sheep and lambs on
both sides of the canal.
Moored at Grafton Regis
Spring is here
We had
woodpeckers drumming in the trees, and making their distinctive laughing calls
as they flew. We also heard curlew down in the valley but we never saw them.
The
forecast was for rain in the afternoon, and we didn’t want to be doing the
Stoke Bruerne locks in the wet. Sure
enough we had some heavy downpours later. Tomorrow is forecast dry.
Rain
Heavy Rain
1 lock, 5
miles
Tue 5th
Apr Grafton Regis to Stoke Bruerne
A
beautiful view greeted us this morning as the sun rose. There was mist in the
valley, and every blade of grass had a water jewel at its tip. The woodpeckers
and curlew could still be heard, and we had two little egrets wading in one of
the flooded fields.
Sheep
Mist in the valley
Bejewelled grass
Early morning at Grafton Regis
James
released the ropes in both bows and stern, as Hazel was busy starting the
washing machine. A boat appeared behind
us just we started to leave the bank. In
these circumstances it is always debatable whether to put on power and go, or
to throttle back and let them pass. They seemed to be going slowly, so we set
off at a pace, and soon realised that they were dawdling and the space between
us grew. We slackened off to normal
speed and didn’t see them again.
We spotted
a sparrow hawk, flying low above the towpath, following the hedge, hoping to
catch small birds by surprise.
We were
soon at the bottom of the Stoke Bruerne locks, where we stopped to fill our
water tank, empty a cassette, and dispose of rubbish. This took us half an hour, and James went
forward to set the first lock. It was 80% full and there was a boat leaving the
lock above, so he opened the top paddles to fill the lock for them. By the time all this had been done, and the
boat had gone through, there was another boat coming into view below, so we
shared the locks with them. Erigeron came from Berkhamsted.
Stoke Bruerne Bottom Lock
Weirs over the lock gates
When water
is weiring over the gates it usually indicates that a boat is coming down the
flight, emptying a lock higher up. There were indeed several other boats coming
down, including an elderly couple who had come all the way from Scarisbrook
Marina, between Liverpool and Wigan, in just two weeks.
Synchronised boating
Stoke Bruerne Top Lock
We
completed all seven locks and moored up. Erigeron
went on further.
We had a
family gather round very excitedly because our boat is called Gabriel and so is their son. They took
pictures and we gave them a leaflet.
Kathryn
came to see us and told us all about her accident when she broke her hip. We
invited her for a meal in the evening, when our discussion included boat
toilets (of course!), aeroplane toilets, life after death and winding holes.
Kathryn
7 locks, 2
miles
Wed 6th
Apr Stoke Bruerne to Weedon
In the
morning there was evidence of mouse hunting success for Hugo on the floor. We
spotted a Fox boat for Peter Ekins, who likes to keep his Fox Boat register up
to date. The boats have a very distinctive bow.
Arctic Fox bows
We set off
north, noticing the new visitor information signs, simulating lock gates that
have recently been installed around Stoke Bruerne. Kathryn has had something to
do with these. Then through Blisworth Tunnel, which was extremely wet following
the heavy rain we have had recently. We
met one boat coming the other way.
New signs at Stoke Bruerne
Blisworth Tunnel South Portal
Emerging from the tunnel
Everything wet
Blisworth
We paused
at Gayton Junction to use the facilities there, and just as we were about to
leave, another boat, Lizzie Beth,
pulled to do the same. They were going in same direction as us.
New buds
We
continued with through very strong winds as far as Weedon, where we moored up
just beyond Milly M, a boat belonging
to Maffi, a friendly character well known to many on the canal system, whom we
have met once before, in 2014 on the Oxford Canal.
The
mooring here was slightly sheltered from the wind, but we had trains thundering
past on the line just across the canal. Lizzie Beth went past.
We went
for a curry in the evening at Brinjol, which was excellent value – a starter, a
main course, a side dish, and rice or nan for £9.95. The food was good, efficiently served, and
too much to eat, so we had a takeaway container at the end. Too good for a dog
– we’ll have it ourselves.
We then visited
Tesco to stock up the food cupboards. On
our return, Maffi was around on his boat so James had a chat.
0 locks,
11 miles, 1 tunnel, 1 mouse
Thu 7th
Apr Weedon to Norton Junction
Too close to trains
Maffi’s boat Milly M
The
weather forecast kept changing every time we took a look. Rain and showers were
forecast, but early seemed better than late, so we set off early (7.25am!) in
dry weather. We passed Lizzie Beth,
moored up not far round the corner. By the time we reached Whilton Marina,
there was a light shower. We stopped near the first lock to warm up, hoping
another boat would appear.
Hazel
visited the chandlery, which has been re-organised and is very user-friendly.
The rain
started to ease off, and Lizzie Beth
arrived, so we agreed to share the seven locks together.
Sharing the locks with Lizzie Beth
The M1
runs alongside at this point and there were heavy lorries and cars, all moving
slowly, as there was a 50mph speed limit. We met several boats coming down the
locks, which helped, but the rain started again, and we were chilled and damp
by the time we reached the top lock nearly two hours later. Shelley and Gary on Lizzie Beth carried on towards Braunston, while we turned off onto
the Leicester Arm at Norton Junction, and very soon found a mooring. It was
well shielded by trees and bushes, so that the sound of the A5 and M1 were
diminished somewhat.
Bridge 1 on the Leicester Arm
A shepherd’s hut at the junction.
Wide views across the valley. Lizzie Beth in the centre.
The sun came
out in the afternoon. We timed it all wrong!
7 locks, 4
miles.
Fri 8th
Apr Norton Junction to Crick
Moored at Norton Junction
Inchy
It was
overcast but dry as we left our mooring. The next boat was Inchy, people we know from BCF, but Roberta wasn’t on board. There
was a mile marker, no longer showing miles to Braunston, but the miles to
Leicester.
Mile marker
We saw
some large rabbits, and a green woodpecker in the fields. There was also a swan
nesting.
Swans nest
Roman Road, Canal, Railway, Motorway
It took 40
minutes to reach Watford Locks, and we reported to the lock keeper. He said
there some boats coming down, and we could start going up when a boat called Sherry came through. We had a 30 minute wait, and James set up his
time lapse camera, hoping to have better success than last time.
Waiting for Watford Locks
Then we
discovered that it was not Sherry but
Cherie with friends Eric and Sue
Naylor at the helm. It was good to see them. They are on their way to Little
Venice Cavalcade.
Eric and Sue
The
Watford Locks consist of a staircase of four, with two singles at the bottom,
and one at the top. It was good to be back on narrow locks, which are less
heavy, and quicker to fill and empty.
Each of the staircase locks has a side pound, and the plan is to take
water from there first to fill the lock, using the red paddle gear before
emptying the lock above into the side pound, with the white paddle gear. Red before White, you’re alright. If you do it the other way round, you are in
danger of making the side pounds overflow.
Entering the staircase
Emptying into the side pound
Near the top
At the top
we emptied a cassette and disposed of rubbish, but we planned to wait until
Yelvertoft before filling the water tank.
Crick Tunnel
A mile
further on was Crick Tunnel, which was damp, but not as wet as Blisworth. We moored
just after bridge 11 at Crick. We
noticed that Large Marge was moored
in front, with no-one aboard. We had lunch, and then Laura and Alison returned
and knocked on the boat and we had a chat. They spent some time last winter in Circus
Field Basin in Aylesbury, which was where we first met them.
We went shopping
in Crick, at the Co-op. Shops along this section are few and far between.
Large Marge went off to find somewhere more open,
as they were having difficulty with internet, phone and TV signals.
We stayed
where we were, as we only need to go two miles tomorrow, to Yelvertoft.
7 locks, 5
miles, 1 tunnel.
Sat 9th
Apr Crick to Yelvertoft
Moored at Crick, looking back towards
the tunnel
We didn’t
have far to go today – just two miles to Yelvertoft. It was sunny as we left Crick, and we noticed
a strange item attached to bridge 12. Does anyone know what this is?
Crick Wharf
What is this?
The canal
takes a turn round a notable feature called Crack’s Hill. It looks a bit like Watership Down, and there
seems to be a large rabbit warren there.
Crack’s Hill
We noticed some unusual brickwork on
Bridge 16
Just past
Yelvertoft Marina we saw two familiar boats: Maggie May, and Large Marge.
We moored beyond them. Laura and Alison
went into the village to seek out the shop, and we renewed our acquaintance with
Peter and Steph on Maggie May. We last saw them on the River Wey before
we left home.
Peter and Steph
Large Marge
We had
some rain, and then, later, a couple knocked on the boat, asking about Canal
Ministries. We invited them in for a cup of tea, and it turned out that they
were from the Congregational Church we are going to in the morning. We
discussed how we might work together on an event to bring a gospel message to
people in the village.
0 locks, 2
miles.
Next week: Heading towards Leicester. Meeting Cousin Anabel. Sunday afternoon music session at Kings Lock Tea Rooms, Aylestone.
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