Sunday sunshine

 We have had a glorious week back on the water and although our plans were thwarted as to getting to Oxford we have taken advantage of the wonderful, long evenings that June gives us. 

Despite the temporary repair to Dashwood Lock being completed we had taken the decision to turn round at Lower Heyford and enjoy the more rural landscape of a return trip up the Oxford Canal. With great weather and some beautiful open moorings that afforded us some fabulous sunsets we are very relaxed and happy. Lots of bbqs and many glasses of wine and beer have been enjoyed on board. Well someone has to do it!

Sid has been doing a bit of polishing when the temperature allows and Jenny has done - not a lot !

We will head towards Braunston over the next few days, which are still forecast to be hot and sunny, then we will return to Fenny at the end of the week for our return home for various appointments before continuing our summer cruising.

Unfortunately, we are having a problem getting photos on to our blog but they will appear at some time.

Day 2 of heading south

 Whoops! May not make Oxford, Dashwood Lock badly broken. So, to console ourselves stopped short of Kings Sutton Lock. Found a perfect mooring with a lovely view and enjoyed a bbq and a few drinks as the sun went down over this beautiful  Oxfordshire countryside.  A happy, lucky couple.

Heading south

 Monday morning dawned bright and warm with a gentle breeze so we were eager to get out of the marina and start this short, summer cruise.

We were both had to think hard about casting off and manoeuvring not having done it for a while and the first lock we encountered took some thinking about but we soon got into the swing of canal life and chugged along happily in the beautiful sunshine. We got in a bit of a queue at the Claydon flight due to a slow filler - a broken paddle - but to our surprise the Claydon flight is now manned by 1 or 2 volunteers daily. A little help is always gratefully received.

We were both revelling in travelling again and with the coutryside looking glorious and the the hedgrows in full blossom all was well in our world.

Cropredy proved to be very busy but were lucky enough to find a little gap just Hunters Moon size. The two chaps sitting on the deck of nb Tinker were most impressed with Sid's mooring. He hasn't lost his touch!

The CRT volunteer, Graham, advised us that, at present, Dashwood Lock between Upper Heyford and Thrupp is closed and that there is also a problem on one on one of the lifting bridges towards Oxford. So, we may not get as far as we hoped. We'll keep an eye on the CRT website.

At last back on board!

 AHOY everyone!

Here we are back on board after soooooooo long.

Once everything is shipshape we are heading south to Oxford for a long awaited couple of weeks shakedown cruise.

The End of our 2019 Season

So, here we are at the end of our 2019 season.

On Monday we travelled from Gayton to Stowe Hill in the dry but with rain setting in at lunchtime we stayed put for the afternoon. Another cosy afternoon in front of the fire and a good book!

Our journey to Braunston was trouble free in the company of two different boats. It  is always good to share these big double locks with heavy gates. The weather was dull but the rain stayed off.

We have spent our last couple of nights on the water at our favourite moorings, one of which is south of Braunston , and the other is in the 'wilderness' between Napton and Fenny, where  we have been treated to a beautiful sunset across these vast open skies.

We head into Fenny Marina tomorrow morning after a very mixed season which has left us with some interesting memories. We have travelled through 550 locks and clocked up 360 engine hours since we set off at the end of April and today Hunters Moon clocked up 5000 engine hours.

Back on the Canals

We are very pleased to be back on more predictable waterways as we progress off the Nene at Northampton and make our way up the 17 Locks on the Northampton  Arm of the Grand Union.

We are both full of cold so decide to stop early, light the fire and settle in for a cosy evening of 'Strictly'.

Rain, rain and more rain on Sunday so we stay put.

Whilst we were stuck on the Nene ( for 10 days) we had signed up to the EA flood line, which automatically messages SSA info for the river. At 2.30pm on Sunday afternoon we received a message to say the river was closed again! Thank goodness we got off when we did!

Moving at last

It has been a very long and frustrating week but at last the Strong Stream Advice has been lifted and we have made it back to Northampton. Unfortunately,  the weather was dreadful for our dash to get off the river before another possible closure of the Nene due to heavy rain. Strong and very gusty winds and heavy rain showers were our constant companions during the 8 hour journey through 13 locks. We were very pleased to get moored at the end of a tiring day.