Foxton to Braunston (26 miles, 13 locks and 3 tunnels)

We would like to begin this post with a big thank you for everyone who came to support the Easter Festival at Foxton this year.  We had a lovely time and glorious weather.  This post is late as we have had dismal wifi reception for ages!

Foxton Locks ~  10 locks made up of 2 'staircases' of 5 locks.  Here is the central passing area

The Friday before the festival weekend, we 'wound' the boats on the Market Harborough arm and then quickly ascended the flight of 10 locks with superb help, as always, from the volunteer lockkeepers.

Breasted up on the towpath

The weather improved over the weekend and we had the gift shop open for the first weekend this year!  It took so long to find everything which had been 'safely' stowed, and get the shop set up, whilst the butty alterations were being done, but I think we achieved a fairly good display in the end.  Sorry forgot to take footage.

Reilly and Lister love to watch the world go by on the stern of the butty when we are moving the boats

On the Tuesday, everyone started to move off from Foxton, us included.  We would moor 'in the middle of nowhere' in order to go through Market Bosworth tunnel first thing.

Passing the 14 day visitor moorings as we head out of Foxton

We seem to be struck by a wave of gradually increasing absentmindedness lately.  Sometime during a walk when we had moored for the evening, I lost the butty key....umm, yes it will turn up, you may say, but we have looked everywhere including retracing our steps of the walk the next day and using the magnet in the water alongside the boats (despite it being a floating keyring with only one key on it). It actually 'varnished' deliberately in order that could be superseeded by a better lock.....

Leafy isolation coming out of Market Bosworth tunnel ~1170 yards long

Welford Junction ~ left to Welford and right to Crick

Approaching the bridge at Yelvertoft Wharf and luckily no oncoming traffic!

A sign we are nearing Crick ~ Crack's Hill ~ great views over the area from the top 

Desperately short of supplies, we moored the boats at Crick and took the short walk to the Co-op in Crick village.  Our journey continued once everyone had eaten, in order to moor at Norton Junction overnight.

Crick Tunnel ~ quite damp inside and 1528 yards long, bit longer than Market Bosworth

After Crick tunnel, we arrived at the top of a very quiet Watford lock flight ~ 7 locks including a staircase of 4 locks in the middle.

Watford Locks were quiet for a change!  We followed a solitary boat all the way down the flight and the lockkeepers helped me again.  I found out later that Richard hadn't really had any help, as they must have assumed he was ok on his own, but he was about to keel over at the bottom of the flight from exhaustion from bowhauling the butty and doing the gates and paddles.  He needs to slow down, don't want to have to do all this on my own!

Norton Junction footbridge.  Right for Braunston, left for the Grand Union to London

We moored overnight as planned at Norton Junction, a favoured stopover, but this time we didn't go to the pub.

Once round the 90 degree turn, we made for the last tunnel for a while Braunston tunnel ~ 2042 yards long with a bend in the middle to make it more interesting....

Braunston tunnel was busy!  We followed a couple of boats through and passed 4 coming the other way.  No collisions, so that was a relief as I am paranoid about scratching our newly blacked boats! 

The Admiral Nelson pub halfway down the lock flight

6 locks to descend before we could moor in Braunston overnight.  We needed paint from the chandlery at the bottom lock (Craftmaster dealers) and general chandlery bits from Midland Chandlers at the junction with the Oxford Canal.

View back to the bottom lock at Braunston

Moored through the bridge in Braunston

We had promised ourselves a meal in The Boathouse pub which is alongside the canal in Braunston that evening.  So off we went after dressing up a bit tidier than of late, ordering our meals with starters, to be told an hour's wait for food.  This was at around 6.30pm.  Around 8.15pm, I made enquiries as to the location of our food, to be informed that it had been confused with another table number and also it had only been on order for 10minutes!  Humble apologies from the waitress (not the one serving us) but still had to pay the £5.10 for the last 2 drinks, when we said we had to leave. No courtesy anymore in these places.  We thought we would take our hard earned cash and spend it elsewhere but ended up cooking ourselves when we got back to the boat.  Lesson learnt and a nice review on Trip Advisor beckons methinks.......