Tuesday 11th March - Ventnor Marina to Green Sheds
Today we begin our big cruise for real. The stoppage on the Buckby Flight should be completed by 14th March and we can head south along the Grand Union Canal.
So, to begin with a short cruise as far as Bridge 103 and the green sheds. On the way we passed these water vole habitats. Coir rolls are placed between wooden poles with a cross pole to allow the voles access in and out of the canal. These pre-planted coir rolls provide water voles with the perfect conditions, with sheltered burrowing sites and lush vegetation where they can forage and hide from predators.
Approaching Bridge 103 where we will moor up on the other side for the night. It has been extremely cold on the back of the boat, the wind has been quite bitter.
Our overnight mooring, with a weeping willow in the foreground just developing its very new leaves for this year.
A beautiful sunset this evening.
3 miles, 3 locks, 1hr 48mins
Wednesday 12th March - Bridge 103 to Braunston Bottom Lock
We decided to move the boat on into Braunston hoping to buy some more wood for the log burner, it has turned much colder than we anticipated so must stock up!
On the way we passed this bankside mooring being advertised. It all looked a bit overgrown and very damp in places, the sign said £360 per month. We thought that was very expensive!
Just coming into Braunston with the twin bridges. We are going to turn right and look for a nice mooring. We eventually stopped above the bottom lock, near the Boat Shop where we bought 3 nets of wood.
Dave also contacted Canal and River Trust concerning Lock 13 on the Buckby Flight and were very pleased to hear that they are ‘good to go’ on 14th March at 4pm. Excellent news!
Supper tonight is being cooked on the log burner, jacket potatoes are in the ash can and the casserole is on the trivet, worked an absolute treat and was delicious!
3.5 miles, 1 lock, 1hr 18mins
Thursday 13th March - Braunston
We are spending a day in Braunston as we are a day in hand for the opening of Lock 13 on the Buckby Flight. We walked into the village and had a coffee in the Community Cafe, we got talking to some of the ladies having coffee and learnt a lot about the cafe. It is owned by a lady who lives in the house and the community pay a peppercorn rent of 20p a year to have the cafe there. It has been there for 15 years and before that it was a charity shop, launderette and a cake shop. It is still thriving today!
Friday 14th March - Braunston to Norton Junction
A bright but cold and frosty start to the morning with the promise of sunny spells, so all good!
There was a single lock keeper on duty who helped us through one lock and then disappeared. Each of the locks has a well tended little garden area, just coming alive with bright spring flowers.
Working our way up the locks, all very gently and calmly. Toby enjoying his new position on the roof of the boat, where he can see Dave and I and keep an eye on things generally.
The final lock of the day and I was amazed at the amount of noise coming from the rookeries in the tops of these trees. Rooks are early nesters, and from February they can be seen flying back to their rookery carrying comically large sticks as they seek to repair winter damage. They do make me laugh!
Toby keeping a watchful eye out whilst Dave waits for the lock to fill. After this lock we headed through Braunston Tunnel where we didn’t meet another boat, so it was really quite enjoyable. We then travelled as far as the Junction and moored up ready to go down the Buckby Locks tomorrow.
Moored up at Norton Junction and the towpath was very wet indeed! We just managed to position the boat so that we didn't step off into a lake!
A stunning sunset, looking back towards Rugby.
3.5 miles, 5 locks, 2hrs 42mins
Saturday 15th March - Norton Junction to Bridge 27 Flore Lane Bridge
We left our mooring on a bright sunny morning and headed down to the service point above the first lock to dispose of rubbish and fill up with water. Dave has set the lock and I am just coming round boats moored on the lock landing in order to enter the lock and begin our descent.
The weather continued to be bright and sunny with little or no wind, which made for a very pleasant cruise down the locks. Dave walked all the way whilst I drove the boat.
Here we are approaching Lock 12 which is also having work done to it. I think I confused the boat coming towards me, you are meant to pass on the right but I chose to tuck in behind the work boat to give him plenty of room to get past!
There was no work being done on the locks today but there was plenty of evidence of what had been happening.
New gates and new paddle mechanism with the cleanest grease we have ever seen on the winding shafts.
Lock 13 with new gates, lock beams, grab handles and also new lock ladders. All very pristine and much easier to work than we remembered them 4 years ago.
We left the locks behind us and headed out towards Weedon. This is Weedon Wharf, I just love the reflection of the clouds in the canal here. Weedon Wharf, now known as The Depot Weedon, was a Royal Ordnance Depot built in the early 1800s to store military supplies, including gunpowder and firearms, and transported via the Grand Junction Canal, serving the British Army from the Napoleonic Wars to the end of National Service
A stunning sunset taken from the front of the boat.
6 miles, 7 locks, 3hrs 30mins
Sunday 16th March - Flore Lane Bridge 27 to Stoke Bruerne Waterways Museum
Our mooring overnight was opposite a field for caravan parking. We woke this morning to a hard frost which gradually melted away as the sun came up. Unfortunately the sun didn’t last and it was very cold and drizzly most of the day.
A very pleasant property, beautifully restored and with three floors and an attic space. The grounds looked very pretty as well.
A very sad sight, I wonder how long that has been there?
This was extremely eye catching, there were monkeys hanging in the trees and giraffes eating the trees. Toby was not happy with these creatures and made a lot of noise as we passed!
This is Gayton Junction, we are going under the bridge on the right of the picture, but to the left is the turning for the Northampton Arm. The last time we came this way was 4 years ago to visit Ely for the birth of our grandchildren Remi and Max.
Ahead of us is Blisworth Mill. Blisworth Corn Mill was built in 1879 by Joseph Westley. During WWII the warehouse was used to store hundreds of tons of tinned food rations. Later owners used the warehouse as a bonded store and as a dry foods processing factory - The Pepper & Spice Company - until in 2000 it was converted to residential accommodation as 21 flats.
We then entered Blisworth Tunnel, the third longest navigable tunnel on the system. It took us just over 29 minutes to get through and we didn’t meet anything coming towards us. It is quite a wide tunnel with room for two 7ft wide boats to pass each other. It is also very wet with very noisy curtains of water falling regularly all through the tunnel.
This was on the ground at the southern portal of the tunnel, seemed to suggest it was a cross-section of the centre of the tunnel. Possibly from when the tunnel was closed for relining in the 1980’s and was opened again 4 years later in 1984 after 4 million pounds was spent on relining the bore. We moored on the Visitor Moorings in Stoke Bruerne and had lunch at The Boat Inn.
10 miles, 0 locks, 3hrs 30mins
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