Monday, 9 May 2016

Long Buckby

We spent a pleasant weekend moored close to Nether Heyford, but today it was time to move on. The mooring we had is now recorded in our book as a good spot, it is nice and rural, with some good walks and fairly close to a pub. The towpath is wide and grassy, so plenty of room for the four legged crew to play. The fishing however is rubbish. Three days spent, and not a single bite. Clearly all the boat traffic had an effect. On the Saturday we walked to the Old Dairy Farm in Upper Stowe. It was until that point, the hottest day of the year so far, and the clue was in the name, Upper. It was uphill all the way. The centre has a collection of small farm buildings surrounding a courtyard. There is a selection of arts and crafts shops to visit and also a restaurant for refreshments.

       
                                                        Old Dairy Farm, Upper Stowe.

Due to it being so hot and a bit of a hike, the furry crew member had been left to relax in the relative coolness of the boat. I therefore knew it was not him tickling my neck, and it certainly wasn't the two legged crew, which is when I found this crawling on me.

                                     

On Sunday as stated we went to the Narrowboat P.H. for our roast dinner. Just as well we booked as it was packed. The rest of the day was then spent lounging around, not catching fish.
Today we set off at about 9 am. Our first stop was at rugby boats for a pump out, then a further short hop to the water point to replenish the tank. It was here that we met blogging royalty, nb. No Problem accompanied by nb. Seyellas Journey. Both these write far more extensive blogs than ours, and can be found in our blog list. We have met Seyellas Journey before but this was a first for No Problem. Their blog was one of the first we read whilst doing our initial research into a life afloat. 

       
                                                        Nb. No problem and Nb. Seyellas Journey.

On completion of the tank filling it was on towards the Buckby flight of locks. Seven in all, but we only planned to go up six today. At the foot of the locks we found ourselves alone for the ascent but as it was lunchtime we thought we'd stop. Just as we finished lunch another boat passed us towards the locks and this was our locking partner. Not only did we now have another boat in the lock, but this singlehanded lady boater had friends, who she had phoned, and they turned up to help so the crew was assisted in their duties today. Once at our mooring spot it was into the shop for a well earned ice lolly, then off to the pub for a cold drink. It's forecast to rain tomorrow so we will stay put a day or so. We now have only one more wide lock to do before returning to home waters.

Totals 5 Miles 6 Locks

Running total 94 Miles 60 Locks 4 Tunnels

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