And so back to Fenny

" Where have all these boats  come from?" is our question as we made our slowly back to our home base. We found ourselves in a  convoy several of times as we chugged along so on each occasion decided to pull over and moor temporarily and have a coffee then a cuppa and then lunch to put some space between us and the many boats in front. We also knew that this number of boats would  create a queue at the bottom of the Napton flight so waiting at our leisure was preferable to waiting with loads of others. We are in no hurry. The sun is still shining but there is a stiff breeze blowing, which is keeping the temperature down.  When we did get to the foot of the flight there were a  couple of boats in front of us but we soon started our ascent. Apparently, there had been an even longer queue at Marsden Doles locks and there had been some frayed tempers. However, this helped us with boats coming down at regular intervals so we were able to progress easily and swiftly up the 7 Napton locks, except for Adkins when a hire boater turned the lock in front of us. Jenny got cross!! The water levels on parts of the flight were low and this kind of action makes matters worse.  By the time we arrived at the 2 Marsden Doles locks all was calm and we then encountered no more boats all the way to our quiet overnight mooring.

On the Napton Flight

Water Buffalo cooling off in the mud!

Happy Sid under blue skies

Bountiful hedgerows harvest - hips, haws, sloes and lots of blackberries 

We made our way back to the marina the following morning passing boat after boat along the way. The wind had strengthened and our approach to our pontoon was less than graceful but we didn't hit anything and were relieved when we were safely tied up.

So, after nearly three weeks on this little leg of this seasons travels we are putting Hunters Moon to bed for this year and just hope 2022 will see us having a more normal season canal adventures.

Last of the big locks

 As a beautiful September is marching on the mornings and evenings are getting somewhat chillier. As was the case when we left our mooring on Monday morning. Despite the  clear blue sky the air was cold. We had the dreaded Buckby flight ahead of us. By the time we approached the bottom Lock the clouds had descended and a cool breeze had sprung up. Fortunately  we paired up with Gordon and Tracey on nb Perfick and made our way up the 7 heavy locks in their good company and by the time we reached top Lock the sun had appeared again. We enjoyed a sunny and pleasant afternoon moored just north of the Lock.

A surprise message from friends, Christine and Ron informing us that they were on their boat Eeezy Life at Calcutt Marina and could we meet for lunch. We arranged to meet them at Gongoozlers in Braunston.

Before that we had had our journey through Braunston Tunnel and the 6 locks of the Braunston flight - the last of the double locks on this journey. Unfortunately,  we got stuck behind two very slow and cautious hire boats that took ages to enter and leave the locks. However, we made our way through the first couple of locks on our own until whilst waiting to enter the  third Lock another boat appeared behind us so we waited for them to join us and low and behold it was nb Perfick again. Although slow we progressed down the remaining locks with ease. As we moored Christine and Ron came along the towpath and after a socially distanced greeting we secured Hunters Moon and  then spent a very happy couple of hours catching up over bacon sandwiches and mugs of tea in the garden next to Gongoozlers floating cafe. 

In the beautiful afternoon sun we chugged out of Braunston to find a mooring between bridges 100 and 101. Gin and tonic on the towpath in the warm sunshine of the late afternoon was the perfect way to end the day.

Season of mists

 

 We woke on Saturday morning to the  countryside being cloaked in heavy mist. It was quite beautiful!  The spiders webs were quite magical, highlighted by small moisture drops and the sheep were barely visible across the fields. The mist was soon burnt away by the sun and we enjoyed a bright, sunny and very warm ascent of the 7 Stoke locks shared this time by Jackie and Alan on nb Eunoia, which means 'beautiful thinking', and 'goodwill to  fellow men' and is the shortest word to include all 5 vowels!

It is a flight of contrast with the bottom lock being quiet and calm to the final two locks where the hurly burly of gongoozelers are encountered at the busy canalside village of Stoke Bruene.

Hunters Moon approaching Stoke Top Lock

We moored just beyond Blisworth for the night and quickly checked that we had good TV reception for the start of 'Strictly' !

The next morning was overcast and chilly and not long after we had slipped our lines it started to rain. Sid got very wet and cold so once again we stopped early and even got the stove fired up to warm us up and dry the boat out. Cosy!

Turning round for a slow return journey

 It's Thursday morning and we have a shopping trip ahead of us because the fridge, fruit bowl and vegetable rack are empty and the 'cellar' is also looking a bit depleted.  Sid took Hunters Moon across the Iron Trunk Aquaduct and on to Wolverton where a Tesco store is close by. It is also from where Sid returned, by train, to Chi back in 2014 for a visit to the dentist to replace a crown and fell on the steps and grazed his knee, which took months to heal! He still has the scar! Sorry reader, you really didn't need that unnecessary piece of our boating history. Back to present times.  

The Iron Trunk Aquaduct

View from the Iron Trunk Aquaduct

It turned out be a very large shop, too much for our usual backpacks and bags so we decided to to do it in two stages with a lunch break in between. Now, fully provisioned and in glorious warm sunshine we made the short trip to the winding hole then to start our slow progress back to Fenny.

We moored back in Cosgrove and enjoyed a BBQ in the late afternoon sun. Once the sun goes down now it is feeling quite chilly, very autumnal! 

Our Friday mooring is beautiful with open fields by our side with sheep grazing. Sid spent and hour or so polishing - the other side now and Jenny sat on the towpath reading. It really is such a tough life.

Tonight's views

Sunshine again

 Monday morning dawned a bit overcast and cool and we made our way through Gayton Junction and on to Blisworth Tunnel, the third longest on the system. As many of our readers know Jenny is not fond of tunnels so once Sid had donned his life jacket and all the lights were on in the cabin she disappeared below for the 30  minute journey through the supposedly haunted darkness. As we emerged from the black hole the sun had appeared and the world looked a good deal brighter. Another short day for us as we tied up 8n Stoke Bruene for lunch and stayed there. We intended to visit the museum but got waylaid by The Navigation pub, which lured us in for our very first proper drop of ale for 20 months. Nectar!

Here he comes!

Cheers!

On our way back  to Hunters Moon we came across a group of local primary school children who were listening to  talk by the HorseBoating Society. We sat and listened to this fascinating lady telling stories about her life with horse drawn narrowboats accompaniedby two beautifully behaved heavy horses. She had some great tales to tell and the children, on the whole, were spell bound.

Sid's friend

Tuesday was forecast to be wet and it was. Heavy rain fell most of the morning and as any boaters know it is best to stay put in those conditions and read a good book! The rain cleared after lunch but left a very damp misty afternoon.

We were a tad short of milk and had some cards to post so Jenny thought she would like a walk. So she looked at the map and decided to walk back OVER the tunnel to Blisworth. It turned out not to be quite  the nice walk she had hoped, having started through the woods it very soon moved on to a fairly busy road, most likely a bit of a rat run, and found herself jumping on and off the road to avoid fast cars and farm vehicles. Eventually, with much relief she found the path back onto the towpath at the other end of the tunnel and continued the short walk to the  village store. Post done and milk purchased Jenny  just had the treacherous walk back  to Stoke Bruene to encounter and with it now being school coming out time the road was even busier. Anyway some 5 and a half miles and 2 hours after leaving Hunters Moon Jenny returned to to the sound of the kettle whistling for a much  needed cuppa. Good old Sid knew what would easy her aching feet and lift her spirits.

Interesting sculpture on the woodland walk

One of the above ground airshafts of the Blisworth Tunnel 

 

Mouth of the tunnel

Blisworth Mill

Phew! Now for the return walk.

Decsending Stoke Locks

The 7 Stoke locks were ahead of us on Tuesday morning and after a slow Top Lock we made speedy progress down with Alex and Emily on nb Gladvictor. The sun came out and by the time we moored at a very busy Cosgrove it was very warm. Gin and Tonic in the sunshine completed a very good day.

A good weekends boating

 After the Braunston flight we took the decision not to venture down the the heavy locks of the Buckby flight. However, on seeing two volunteers ahead we did take advantage of their help through the top Lock and then found a very pleasant mooring for the night near Anchor Cottage.

The following morning we made our way to our first lock of the day and waited a short while for another boat to share the 6 lock descent. NB Preaux appeared as if by magic and we had a pleasant  couple of hours working our way down the flight with Steve and Dina. The sun shone as we meandered along the Grand Union towards Stowe Hill where we planned to moor for the night, stopping en route for lunch and to pick up milk and bread from the little Tesco at Weedon Bec.

Early morning at Stowe Hill

Sunday morning and the  church bells can be heard across the fields and the sun shines again and after a slow start, a top up of water and a brief stop at Rugby Boat Sales to say hello, we bought Hunters Moon from them in 2012, we continued on our way along this pretty stretch of canal the peace of which is interrupted by the West Coast Mainline trains at regular intervals. The canal appears very quiet with very few boat movements in either direction. Perhaps the GU is less popular with hire boats than the Oxford. A very short day for us, mooring for lunch and staying put for the afternoon brings our first week afloat on this trip to a close. Jenny is cooking an on board roast this evening with the beautiful lamb chops we purchased in Braunston. Perfick! 

Dull! Dull! Dull!

The beautiful blue skies have been replaced by looming clouds and after overnight heavy rain the countryside looks dank, misty and gloomy.

We set off for Braunston to use the facilities and to visit the butchers and general stores. Unfortunately,  Braunston still suffers from being a real black spot for communication so no mobile signal and no internet. It is surprising how isolating it feels in this day and age. Sid managed the walk and we were nearly back to HM when the skies opened and rain poured with a few rumbles of thunder in the distance. And so it continued for the rest of the afternoon and evening. 

The following morning we were just about to slip our lines when more heavy rain arrived! Whilst waiting for the rain to clear Jenny made a blackberry and apple crumble.

On The Braunston Flight with 4 Fun

It was good to encounter a CRT volunteer at Braunston Bottom Lock when we eventually set off and shared the locks with Brian and Elaine on nb 4 Fun. However, after 3 locks the volunteer came running up to us and asked us to stay where we were because he had had a report of the next pound being very short of water so he was going to let more water down. The flight had been very busy during the morning,  maybe this was the reason for the water shortage.  Half an hour or so later all was flowing again so we continued on our way. 

The rain stayed off and we completed the fight without further ado. 

Another hot day - hooray!

 With another hot day ahead we made an early start. Due to lack of water the Marston Dole locks are at present locked overnight. They open at 08.00 so couldn't proceed down the flight any earlier!  Ha, ha! people who know us, know we are not early birds these days so for us to be at the Top Lock by 09.15 in our book is early. 

We made rapid progress down the 9 locks with boats going up at every lock bar one. 2 hours is a record for us. No prizes though!

We contemplated stopping at the moorings at the bottom where there is good shade but since there was a lovely, fairly brisk breeze blowing keeping the temperature unmanageable, we decided to press on and find a mooring nearer to Braunston. However, most of the shady spots were already occupied. We were beginning to fade and resign ourselves to an exposed sunny mooring when we rounded a bend and there it was, the perfect patch of shade just waiting for Hunters Moon to moor. 

So, a breezy, quiet afternoon was spent on the towpath with a few more blackberries picked and some pages of books being read before another BBQ.

Towards the end of a hot day. 

After our bbq

Enjoying the last of the last hot day

Summer at last

Having longed for some blue skies and warmth  throughout August to no avail we are now enjoying a very hot, sunny early September. Narrowboats, being made of steel, are not the most friendly of environments in very hot weather so our main task on this first cruusing day has been to find shade.  We found a very pleasant mooring in dappled shade for a lunch stop then moved on to another of our favourite spots to moor overnight. We hoped we would be lucky, with it being such a perfect spot on a hot day, and not find it full. Our luck was in and we spent a relaxing afternoon and evening with just the sound of the sheep bleating and bird tweeting.

Dappled shade for our lunch stop!

Our perfect overnight mooring!

These won't be there for long!

BBQTime

Our departure was delayed by a day because we had the unexpected opportunity to catch up with fellow boaters, Jane and Ian on nb Esio Trot who had arrived back at their home mooring, Dunchurch Pools Marina, on Sunday after a summer cruising the Kennet and Avon. We hadn't seen them for years so it was good to catch up with all their news and share boating adventures over a cuppa and Sid even managed a walk round the marina.

 

Back on board

The sun is shining. We've a cold glass of wine in our hands and Hunters Moon is all shipshape and ready to go.

Off tomorrow on our travels towards the Grand Union and Milton Keynes.  A few days of good weather ahead of us.