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.