Monday 13th July - Nelson’s Wharf to Chambers Bridge 100
This morning we woke to find the boat listing towards the canal, the water in the pound had dropped overnight and when we tried to cast off we were stuck on the mud! It took quite a few attempts to push her off and out into the stream but we did it eventually with the aid of a pole.
When we arrived at Calcutt Locks there was a queue as the middle lock was out of action. However, CRT were on site and we were on the move again after about 30 minutes.
Once through the locks we headed for the junction and passed another boat with the same name as ours!
At the junction we approached very slowly as we could see boats passing in both directions and others turning into the canal we were on. However we crept out into a space, turning left and heading towards Braunston. We had to stop again quite quickly as there was a boat across the canal, and rather than push our way past it, Dave got off and secured it to the piling with their rope.
We moored up about 2 miles away from Braunston in open countryside and watched many more boats pass us. This was a pair of working boats, very handsome, especially the butty which had just had a new paint job. They were celebrating the 50th anniversary of the last Jam ‘Ole Run. This was the name given to the journey from Atherstone to Brentford carrying coal from the mines to a jam factory by pairs of working boats.
In the afternoon we walked into Braunston to buy some new fenders for the boat and by the time we got back it had started to rain, so we stayed on board and had a quiet evening.
6.25 miles, 3 locks, 3 hours 6 mins cruising time.
Tuesday 14th July - Chambers Bridge 100 to Brockhall Road Bridge
Today we headed into Braunston and turned right towards the tunnel. We called into the Marina to fill up with diesel, turning into the Marina is fine, but in order to get out you need to reverse out into the canal before carrying on the way you were going. Lots of people watching, but the procedure went well and all was good!
Dave worked the locks and all was fine until one of the middle pounds which was incredibly low, CRT were aware of the problem and had got someone on their way to see what the problem was.
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We moored up for the night at Brockhall, a lovely quiet mooring and opposite was moored a boat named Bedazzled - this company sells LED lighting for boats caravans and camper vans, so I guess they must operate from here.
9 miles, 13 locks, 1 tunnel, 6 hours 48 mins cruising time.
Wednesday 15th July - Brockhall to Banbury Lane Bridge
We left our mooring and made our way through Weedon Bec, passing the Widgeon Theatre Boat, which has been laid up due to the virus but has been rocking the airwaves apparently! It is an historic 82 year old narrowboat turned into a bespoke theatrical venue.
We also passed a pair of Jules Fuels boats, featured just recently on a Countryfile programme. Jules fuels is a family of fuel boats which serve the Grand Union Canal from Cowley in the South to Stockton and Brinklow in the North.
Nether Heyford is a very picturesque village with some lovely houses and the canal running through it. It has the largest village green in the country, two pubs and two churches!
This was an unusual floating residence, a converted container with an outboard motor, most unusual but quite clever.
We moored up for the night about 1.5 miles away from Gayton Junction, with the turning off the Grand Union Canal onto the Northampton Arm. We went for a walk to check out the junction as that is where we are going tomorrow. Excited and apprehensive at the same time as this stretch is once again new to us, but really looking forward to it!
7.5 miles, 2 hours 54 mins cruising time.
Thursday 16th July - Banbury Lane Bridge to Northampton Marina
This morning we set off early as we are going to Gayton Junction and turn left to descend the Northampton Arm to Northampton. This is very exciting as it is the first time we will have traveled on this canal!
The junction was surprisingly busy with queueing up to use the facilities in the block to the left of the photo. The boats also seemed to be caught by a cross wind, so they were going in all directions!
So, we arrived at the first lock of the flight of 17 locks, the locks are in good condition and were fairly easy to work. The area around the canal is called the Mosaic Nature Trail, which boasts two mosaic panels at each of the locks of the Northampton Arm, one recording an aspect of canal life, the other forming part of the nature trail with a letter identifying the aspect of nature pictured. The trail doubles up as a challenge for children, to collect all the letters and work out the phrase they spell. In return they will be rewarded with a Certificate of Achievement.
The mosaics are of excellent quality and are lovely to look at, I wonder what the phrase would have been?
As well as the 17 locks there are 3 lift bridges to go through, fortunately 2 were already up and we only had to operate one of them. All the locks on the arm are narrow locks which means that wide beam boats can travel along the Grand Union but can’t get to the River Nene, unfortunately this was a penny pinching decision which cost the canal companies dearly at the time, and still does today.
We were being tailed at one time by this tern, hovering behind the boat looking for fish being disturbed in our wake.
I caught the tern just after it had dived into the water and it flew off with a little fish in its beak, you can see the fish if you enlarge the photo, I was most impressed with that shot!
This final lock of the day took us down onto the River Nene and we moved out of Canal and River Trust and in to Environment Agency responsibility. At the first opportunity we need to buy a licence to allow us to cruise on EA waterways.
On the banks of the river is a Carlsberg brewery, a huge area smelling overwhelmingly of hops.
Brewing began in Northampton in 1973 and the brewery building is inspired by a Danish Longship.
We cruised on into Northampton Marina where we moored for the night and bought our EA licence, very excited to see what the River Nene holds for us tomorrow!
6.5 miles, 17 locks, 5 hours 24 mins cruising time.
Friday 17th July - Northampton Marina to Hardwater Mill Moorings
After a pleasant night in the Marina, Dave turned the boat round to put on water, returned the key fob to reception then headed out of the Marina past this heron keeping a beady eye on things.
The first lock is Northampton Town Lock, a double lock with mitred gates at either end, fairly straight forward And easy to operate.
We cruised past a lovely family of swans working their way down river in the sunshine.
This is Billing Aquadrome, many years ago when our girls were tiny tots, we camped here on a visit to see my sister who was living in Wellingborough at the time.
This is one of the guillotine locks, quite daunting looking affairs. You go into the lock through mitred gates and then the guillotine is electrically operated in order to empty the lock, it is a case of inserting a key and pushing a button, very straight forward, but you do have to dodge the drips as you pass under the gate!
At Earls Barton Lock we were kept company by these two handsome ponies, although Toby really wasn’t all that impressed with them. They both used the gate as a scratching post!
We moored for the night on one of the Friends of the River Nene moorings, at Hardwater Mill, very peaceful and quiet. The mill is a holiday cottage and they have an Archimedes screw to provide the property with hydro power and have also created an eel pass.
9.75 miles, 10 locks, 6 hrs cruising time.
Saturday 18th July - Doddington Lock to Little Addington Moorings
Early morning start, a good shot of Ella waiting on a mooring pontoon to go through a lock, the skies seem so huge around here!
All of the locks have been unusual to us, but this one is even more unusual! It is Ditchford Radial Lock, a guillotine lock which is pivoted from below and passes up and over the boats, most odd to watch from inside the lock.
We moored up for the evening at Little Addington Moorings and went for a walk up the hill to the village and then back down to the river. A very pretty little village which seems to indulge in an annual bread throwing competition!
On our way back to the boat we passed the next lock we come to. Up to now these guillotine locks have been electrically key operated, but this one is manual, a lot of turns of this big wheel to lift and drop the guillotine! Should be fun!
11 miles, 6 locks, 5 hours 12 mins cruising time.
Sunday 19th July - Little Addington to Peartree Farm Moorings
Dave working the manual lock mechanism, it took lots of turns of the wheel to get this gate up and down!
We found some brave people swimming in the river at about 10 o’clock this morning, they said it was actually lovely, but I don’t think I would be tempted at the moment.
This was once upon a time a railway bridge which has been dismantled, leaving the remains of the arches in the water, it now has a pipe bridge that we need to go under instead.
At Islip Lock it suddenly got very busy with boats moving in all directions, we actually got to share a lock with a small river cruiser, they were very brave, but we didn’t bump them and no damage was sustained in this event!
We continued to Peartree Farm Moorings and pulled over to moor up for the evening. The mooring is on a small piece of land between the River Nene and a small brook, you can only access it by boat so it is very secure and safe.
So the end of our second week and we have traveled a good distance. Thoroughly enjoyed the cruising and the weather has been kind to us, next week we shall continue along the Nene and possibly onto the Middle Levels, another new challenge for us!
8.75 miles, 5 locks, 5 hours 6 mins cruising time.
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