Leaving Alvecote Marina early Wednesday morning last week, Richard heroically tolerated a lot of pain in his leg, in an effort to get both boats over to Stoke Bruerne for the weekend.
Early morning tiptoeing past narrowboat Biddie and butty Olive
Richard's accident the previous weekend has been a lesson to everyone, that even fairly competent boat people can get it wrong!
Passing through Polesworth
Beautiful countryside
We met up with Michael off the Cheese Boat at the bottom lock of the Atherstone flight, where he helped us pass up through the first 6 locks. All of us then moored up in the Long Pound and decided that breakfast/dinner in Atherstone would be the best course of action!
We completed the rest of the flight the next morning, leaving the Cheeses behind as they intended on spending the weekend at Hawkesbury Junction.
The 'U' bend that is Hawkesbury Junction (Sutton Stop to boaters)
Completing the turn, we wait as the stop lock releases it's latest narrowboat from the North Oxford Canal to the Coventry Canal.
Stretton Stop, North Oxford Canal, where the logistics of jumping off your boat, whilst it is still moving, opening, then closing the footbridge crossing the canal, and jumping back on the boat as it is clear, is the challenge!
This is a lovely section of the canal, near Brinklow
Newbold tunnel, on the outskirts of Rugby ~ a mere 250 yards long
Overnighting just a few miles short of Braunston, Richard's leg continued to give him a lot of pain and swelling. Not surprising, after such a lot of standing and pulling the butty around!
Bright and early, the canal takes us through Braunston, but unusually for us, we carry on up the flight of locks, intending on getting to Blisworth before nightfall.
Titchy narrowboat!
The junction ~ right to Oxford on the south Oxford canal, left to Leicester or even London
My dad's little fibreglass day boat, rebuilt in the garage, was also called 'The Dog House'
Hopefully in our lifetime! Disconnected from the main system, the Grantham Canal is under a programme of restoration and passes through some spectacular parts of West Lincolnshire amd Nottinghamshire. (The Grantham Canal is a canal that runs for 33 miles from Grantham, falling through 18 locks to West Bridgford where it joins the River Trent. It was built primarily to allow for the transportation of coal to Grantham. Wikipedia)
An hour's wait for a dutch barge widebeam to emerge from the Braunston tunnel.
Instead of using this time to rest his leg, Richard decides to polish the brasses, balancing on one leg!
And on to Norton Junction, to drop down the few locks to Whilton and breakfast/dinner again in the cafe!
The remainder of the journey, the weather wasn't great, so I didn't really get the camera out. We thought, as we got to Blisworth, we should carry on through the tunnel and get moored up in Stoke Bruerne.
'All Things Spanish' (the icecream/coffee boat) narrowboat owners and good friends Sandra and Bob met us with a welcoming coffee! Thanks guys, we needed it!
Oops! Someone had an accident in the second lock down at Stoke Bruerne on Saturday evening!
Damage to the skeg and rudder
Discretion was obviously not top of narrowboat Iron Maiden's captain's priorities when his boat began to drop!
Nevermind, all refloated and no one hurt and a lesson to us all to take good care around locks!!
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