All Oak Wood

Following our night at Hawkesbury, this morning we woke to a less windy, but slightly chillier day. After breakfast and disposing of some rubbish, we set about our departure. There had been a steady stream of boat movement, and just as we untied the boat another one appeared through the stop lock. We waited for it to pass. Once underway, we were soon travelling parallel to the noisy M6, and ahead of us the equally noisy M69. It seems so long ago since we left the peaceful tranquility of the Ashby Canal. It was about an hour before the drone of the motorways could no longer be heard, but just as we escaped their noise, so we began merging with West Coast Main Line, and its diesel trains thundering past. Rose Narrowboats was the next hurdle, here the canal is narrowed by the long lines of moored boats, and some triple parking of the hire fleet. There is a small footbridge to move, so the crew jumped off the boat, to facilitate our passage through a narrow channel. It was at this point we passed a boat on the water point that had been ahead of us leaving Hawkesbury. This was to prove to be very fortuitous for us a short while later. We travelled the final mile to our intended mooring spot just prior to All Oak Wood, and on arrival found it to be very busy. There was however one solitary gap in the line of moored boats, and as we slowed down it was just big enough to shoehorn ourselves into. We had the last spot. 

• Totals 8 Miles
• Running total 212 Miles 42 Locks 9 Tunnels