Best Made Plans

As we have known many times before the best made plans can go tits up in our world on the canals !

We left our mooring opposite Gayton Marina on another bright but cool Saturday morning to face the 17 Locks, which take us down to Northampton planning to be there by lunchtime.

Waiting!

On arriving at the top lock we are met with a smiling Ben, the CRT man, with the news that one of the pounds on the flight is empty and he was closing the flight until he had managed the water. So, we made coffee, Sid did some tinkering, Jenny did some cleaning and we waited in the warming sun. It is a beautiful spot overlooking the Northamptonshire countryside in it's autumn glory.

Top Lock

Through Top Lock at last.

A picturesque flight of locks

under beautiful blue skies

About an hour and half later, Ben reappeared, having filled the flight and telling us we should be good to go but to be aware that the infamous Leon was about and would offer to help us down the flight but would ask for payment.  He is known to fleece boats of £10.00- £30.00,  which is used to fuel his evident liking for cider. Just say no!  Jenny added Thank you! He was fine about this and even closed the bottom gates of lock 2 for free!
The sun shone and it got very warm as we made steady progress down the a flight and we made good time 'til we got to lock 12! Here, on a lock sighted under the M5,  the bottom gates were open and as Jenny went to close them the nose of a boat appeared around the bend.  The skipper, having difficulty  seeing against the low sun,  dithered and was not sure whether to proceed despite Jenny waving him in. Eventually, he slowly proceeded to the awaiting open lock. He dropped his crew off to assist with the lock a made his way in. The crew informed Jenny that this was her first outing on a narrowboat so was am novice! We all have to start a some time! Although not confimed,  it also appeared that the skipper was also a novice.

Great art work by local school children

and churches, under the bridge carrying

the M1over the Northampton Arm.

Whilst all this was going on, and unbeknown to Jenny, the water in the pound, where Sid and Hunters Moon were waiting, was getting lower and lower and, when we started to fill the lock, even lower resulting in Hunters Moon getting stuck on a ledge!  This was where the main problem had been earlier, so there is obviously a problem in this pound. We had to wait for some water to be brought down from the lock above to lift HM off the ledge so she could proceed.

All in a days boating and the sun continued to shine, but time was now ticking on as we  approached lock 13 where the locks are more spread out. The final 4 locks seemed to take  an age, 2 hours to be exact and we eventually arrived in Northampton tired and very hot a lot later than expected.

The Carlsberg Brewery heralding our arrival in Northampton

We found the marina where we could purchase our licence for the River Nene so are all  ready to go.