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.