Stoke Hammond

Today it was a flip of a coin as to whether to move or not. The forecast indicated we would encounter several showers, but that the wind would be light. Most of the journey would be spent circumnavigating Milton Keynes, however it was surprisingly rural. It seems the towns planners created plenty of parkland for the enjoyment of its residents. After a few miles we reached Fenny Stratford. The lock here has a change of level of one foot one inch. Whether this was a mistake by the canal builders, or planned is a mystery. The lock also features a swing bridge, which must be moved before entry to the lock chamber.

       

                                                   Fenny Stratford lock and swing bridge.

Our next planned stop was to be Willow Bridge Marina for fuel, water and a pump out. The diesel pump was being repaired, so that will have to wait until our return. On route we spotted numerous heron, but this chap seemed to have a good fishing perch.

       

From Willow Bridge it was only a mile or so to the lock at Stoke Hammond. We were joined by a singlehanded narrowboater for the ascent. Our chosen mooring spot was just above the lock with a nice wide grassy towpath.

       

    

       

                                                        Mooring at Stoke Hammond.

Not long after mooring up we were passed by nb Kantara, neighbours of ours at Yelvertoft. Kantara is on its way back from cruising London and their blog can be found in my blog list. We have good 3G and satellite signals here and are close to a couple of pubs so we are in no hurry to move on. 

Totals 10 Miles 2 Locks

Running total 60 Miles 42 Locks 3 Tunnels