Braunston to Crick

Tue 4th Sep  Bridge 87 Oxford Canal to Br 3, Balls Bridge  Leicester Arm

Sunrise near Braunston

There was a heavy dew this morning. This soon gave way to some bright sunshine and a fairly strong wind.

Approaching Braunston

Our first stop was at the sanitary station in Braunston, where we had hoped to empty two cassettes.  It is difficult mooring here, where the canal is very narrow, and the mooring length is on the outside of a bend, so that the bows of the boat stick out. James lugged the heavy cassettes over to the disposal point, only to find a notice on it saying “out of order”.  A similar notice at the water’s edge would have been helpful – we wouldn’t even have tied up here.

We moved round the corner past Braunston Turn and headed for the second sanitary station, which thankfully was functioning OK.

A little further on, we stopped once more, while Hazel went to post a birthday card to James’ sister Maggie.  James went to speak to the CRT staff in the Stop House and found it was only open on Friday mornings. Perhaps it was just as well, as he was cross about the sanitary station notice.

The Stop House

We cruised slowly past the moored boats and the boatyards towards the Braunston Locks. Charlotte Rose also arrived and we shared the locks together.

Braunston boatyards

Sharing locks with Charlotte Rose

There were several boats coming the other way, which made our progress easier.

Meeting other boats on the locks.

There was a sign about wasps on the top lock beams. We wondered who had written it and which school they had gone to.  Who hates on anything?

Wasp notice

We went through the tunnel, and from our records it was the fourteenth time.  We had hoped to moor just before Bridge 10, where there are rings and lovely views, but there was orange netting everywhere indicating that they are not in use.  So just after the bridge, at Norton Junction, we started up the Leicester line, mooring near Bridge 3, Ball’s Bridge.

Bridge 10 moorings fenced off

Into the Leicester Section

Moored at Ball’s Bridge

6 locks, 6 miles, 1 tunnel

Wed 5th Sep  Ball’s Bridge to Crick

Bridge 3

Red berry season

We had a fairly early (for us) start at 0845, going under the A5 (Watling Street), under the West Coast Main Line railway, and past the Watford Gap services on the M1.  We noticed that Watford Gap Services has a new fence, seemingly making it difficult for boaters to nip through and use the food outlets there.

We arrived at Watford Locks, and had a ten minute wait for a boat that had started down the flight.

Waiting at Watford Locks

Watford Bottom Lock

Red before white

The volunteer on duty said she had seen the posters for Canal Fever at Yelvertoft, and would come along. At the top we found coal boat Callisto, and we purchased three bags of Homefire Ovals. Callisto used to be moored as a house boat on the River Wey at New Haw, and when James was editor of Byfleet Boat Club’s magazine By the Wey, he was contacted by some people who used to live on it, and he produced an article about the boat.

Coal boat Callisto

Callisto

We passed Djinni who was moored up. We seem to have been playing leap frog with them  since Rugby.

Djinni

Crick Tunnel is very straight, and you can see right through to the other end.  We met one boat coming the other way.

Crick Tunnel

Emerging

We found a mooring in Crick just after the second Marina entrance

Our mooring in Crick

We went to visit the Co-op for some essentials, and we contacted Jim and Jan to let them know we had arrived.  They suggested we went out for a meal, and they met us in the car park at The Moorings, and took us to an Indian restaurant in Long Buckby. It was good to see them again

7 locks, 4 miles, 1 tunnel

Next: the concert in Yelvertoft and the service the following day before moving further up the Leicester line.