Welford Junction

Set off this morning at 10 am with grey sky and a chilly breeze. The intention was to continue north towards Welford Junction. This is where a short one and a half mile stretch of canal leaves the Leicester arm and terminates at a wharf in the village of Welford. Just prior to the terminus is a single lock. We moored before the junction as it is our intention to continue our journey north for a while and there where some handy mooring rings where we were stopping.

                                         Welford Junction ahead in the gloom.

                                 Our mooring - As you can see all alone for now.

The trip took took two hours and on route we noted some very nice secluded moorings that we shall use in the future. After lunch we walked upto the junction and then down the Welford Arm to the terminus and the pub. The Wharf Inn had been recommended so we rested there a while before walking up to the village shop.

On our return Oscar saw another dog on the opposite bank of the canal and this dog was playing with a frisbee. Now Oscar has one of these and he decided to play as well only between him and the other dog was about 20 feet of canal. The obvious happened whilst running full speed and unable to stop Oscar ended up 7 or 8 feet from the bank in the canal. His head disappeared and when it bobbed up again he swam for the bank. He looked like a drown rat when first pulled out.

                    A dripping wet Oscar.

Still at least we now know if he falls in that he can swim ok. Fortunately the sun was now shining and our walk back was in the warm giving him time to dry before we got home.

Totals 5 Miles

Leicester line GU nr bridge 28

This morning was very misty when Oscar got up for his breakfast, so I am told. By the time I awoke the mist had cleared over the marina but it still looked grey and overcast, not the fine weather promised in the forecast. Still at least we could now see the exit onto the canal. After moving the car to the long stay area and refilling the water tank we departed the marina at 11 am. We had been in the marina since Friday and although it is very nice we definitely prefer to be out on the cut.

An hour and half later we had travelled the 3 miles to our mooring spot. Today is the busiest day we have seen on the canal. We had at least 6 boats opposing us and someone told us we were the fifteenth to pass them that day.

As we moored the sun came out and so we had an enjoyable afternoon chatting to other boaters on the towpath. Oscar was also able to try out his sun hat which had arrived in the post a few days ago.

                                                Oscar wearing his new hat.

                                             A couple of photos of our mooring.

We will probably stay here for a few days before we continue our journey north towards the Welford arm.

Yelvertoft

We set off this morning at 7.45 am. You could tell the weather was going to be good as the sky was crystal clear blue and mist appeared to be rising from the canal.

                                                The start of a glorious day.

We approached the Watford flight of locks and were first in the queue for going up. After checking in with the lock keeper we waited until the two boats descending the flight had finished. Then it was our turn. Each lock had two set of colour coded paddles, red and white. You open the red ones first then the white which balances the water in the side ponds, so the lockie told us.

                                  Entry point to the first lock of the Watford flight.

                                  Waiting for boats in the staircase to exit.

                   Halfway up the red paddles being opened with lockie looking on.

                                             Top of the flight looking back.

Having ascended the locks it was not long before we entered Crick tunnel. We were nearly through thinking we had got away without a drenching and then it happened near the northern end of the tunnel. Oscar had sat just inside the boat rather than in 'his spot' but he seemed ok with it. Once clear of the tunnel we passed the marina famous for the annual boat show and pressed on towards Yelvertoft.

We needed a pump out and also took the opportunity to refuel. We had used 56 litres of diesel on our journey from Tamworth. After re acquainting ourselves with the staff at Yelvertoft marina we continued heading north on what is going to be our home water for the winter. It is very tranquil a little overgrown and shallow in a lot of places.

                                 View from side hatch of night time mooring.

We are planning to stay put for a few days maybe only moving for a refill of water when needed.

Totals 10 Miles 7 Locks 1 Tunnel

Norton Junction (day two)

We stayed put today for our day of rest. It started by us laying in till 10 am. After breakfast we decided to walk to Whilton Marina as they have a chandlers there. The walk took us down the Grand Union mainline passing the 7 locks of the Buckby flight. At the marina we found the chandlers well stocked. On the counter by the till was a large bucket of hose connectors with a note saying 'carry a spare'. Clearly I am not the only one to misplace this thing, so I bought two. I have also decided to try and limit my visits to chandlers in general as they are like toy shops for grown ups, and I always seem to spend more than I intended before entering. After brief refreshments of an ice lolly each we returned towards Long Buckby. At the top of the flight is the pub we visited yesterday, so a return visit today for lunch seemed a good idea. The day had warmed up so on return to the boat the afternoon was spent lazing about in the sun.

Tomorrow we plan to set off early to tackle the staircase locks at the Watford flight, which happen to be very close to Watford Gap services on the M1, and Crick tunnel, which I believe leaks so raincoats at the ready.

Norton Junction

In Yesterday's post I forgot to mention that at the point we entered Braunston we left the Oxford canal and joined the Grand Union Canal. This is a wide canal and means that all the locks will now be double locks with heavy gates and paddles. 

I was also minding my own business with a side hatch open and nearly lost my left ear to this........

We left our mooring at 7 am and used the water point by the gongoozlers rest. For those not in the know this is a floating cafe next to Braunston marina. A gongoozler is someone who likes to watch activity on the canals.

It was here that we found that someone ( me ) had lost/misplaced our hose connector. The lady at the gongoozlers rest was kind enough to lend us hers so we bought some local honey in exchange. We arrived at the bottom lock of the Braunston flight at 8 am and there was another boat just about to start so we doubled up with them. This not only saves water but also shares the workload. It turned out the other boat was also a Hudson.

We carried on up the flight knowing that up ahead was Braunston tunnel. This tunnel is two way traffic for narrowboats and is 2042 yards long so well over a mile. It took us about 30 minutes to get through and we passed 3 other boats on the way.

The Francis light worked well in the tunnel and we even switched on the port and starboard navigation lights to check they were working. Once out of the tunnel it was only a short hop to our mooring location at Norton Junction. This is where the Leicester arm of the Grand Union Canal leaves the mainline which goes onto London.

       

                   Left turn for Leicester and Market Harborough straight on for London

This afternoon we took Oscar for a walk to a boatyard to try and obtain a hose connector but no luck. So we found The New Inn P.H. at Long Buckby and had a drink instead. Now back on board for a relaxing evening. Sky dish aligned and curry for tea. Tomorrow we stay put as we don't want to over do it and on Monday we have a lock staircase to deal with but that is another story.

Totals 4 Miles 6 Locks 1 Tunnel

Braunston

Set off this morning at 7 am and at 8 we were passing through Newbold Tunnel. This is our first on Achernar and it is only a short one at 250 yds long. Still it was long enough to give the Francis searchlight it's initial use. After the tunnel is a water point which was clear so we stopped to refill the tank. Setting off again was another first this time it was using the travel power which is a 240 volt generator. This allowed us to use the washing machine. We continued on passing through Rugby before arriving at Hillmorton Locks. There are three pairs of locks here and we were going uphill. At the first lock (the bottom lock) we were greeted by some volunteer lock keepers who did all the work leaving us only to deal with the middle and top locks. After leaving Hillmorton you quickly pass from the urban sprawl of Rugby into nice open country. We took note of some good mooring spots for future use.

               Hillmorton locks in the grey gloom with Rugby radio masts in background.

As we continued on towards Braunston the sun emerged and it became quite warm. Oscar has now laid claim to 'His Spot' on the rear deck and he made good use of it warming himself in the suns rays.

We arrived at Braunston at 1 pm the whole run including locks taking 6 hours. We found a mooring space just beyond The Boathouse P.H. It was mutually decided that we would lunch at the pub and have dinner on board this evening as being Friday the pub will probably be busy tonight. We are only a couple of hundred yards from the start of the Braunston flight which will tackle tomorrow. We also have a very long tunnel to deal with.

Totals 14 Miles 3 Locks 1 Tunnel

Brinklow

We stayed on our mooring today and after conducting some maintenance and cleaning we walked into Brinklow. This is a small village about a mile walk from the canal the main focal point being the church.

There is a small deli a post office and three pubs so this could be a good winter mooring spot for the future. On entry to the village is the village sign and a new war memorial which is due to be unveiled later this month.

On return to the boat it was lunchtime and then later I went foraging for towpath apples and blackberries. These were made into a crumble which will tonight's pudding.

Tomorrow we head for Braunston which is about 15 miles and 3 locks away so we hope to be underway by 7 or 7.30 at the latest.