Relaxed return

The out bound journey is chronicled here. The return to Welford from Napton boasted new crew, with wife Jenny and brother in law Peter tackling the locks while Duncan was at the helm.
Dropping off the second car at Napton was made easy by the good people at Crossroads Garage (thank you!) on the Shuckburgh Road at Napton, who let us park for a few days in their forecourt in return for a donation to Air Ambulance, while we took to the canal. Our temporary mooring was by Bridge 110 just 5 minutes walk away, so we carried our stuff and set off straight after an onboard lunch.
And so just a couple of hours later we made our entrance to Braunston. Torn between mooring in the main line or knocking off a few locks to make tomorrow's work easier we first took in the sights of the marina then compromised and went through three locks to moor above The Admiral.
As a useful aside it's worth pointing out that some of the Braunston locks have ground paddles as well as gate paddles. The former are very stiff and hard to work. For those unaccustomed to them the idea is to avoid a surge of water by opening the ground paddles gradually - ideally the paddle opposite the boat first, if there is only a single boat in the lock. You then reassess the situation before completely opening the ground paddles. Don't use the gate paddles until the boat is above their level. This should avoid water in your bow. Here's a gate paddle when the water was very low at Braunston.

Unfortunately The Admiral is not currently serving cooked food on Monday or Tuesday so apart from a few drinks we couldn't give them our custom; otherwise we found ourselves in a good spot.

Lock Keepers' cabin, Watford flight top lock

Next day was a bit more like hard work, with the remaining three locks and the tunnel at Braunston, then turning at Norton junction, the usual queue at Watford locks followed by the staircase, and finally Crick tunnel to moor at Crick itself. A full day.
An evening meal at the Red Lion (excellent fish crumble) finished off a good day.

On our third day we headed straight up the Leicester line and down the arm to Welford, finally driving back to Napton taking both cars back home.
We all enjoyed a relaxed three day trip in very good weather (no rain) and I think we converted Peter to narrow boating. He'll certainly be invited again!

Plans go awry

It seems to have taken an age to plan, discuss and execute this simple trip, but what with constraints on time, crew and other events the out and back trip to Warwick from Welford seemed easy enough....
The original plan was to go to Stratford on Avon, delightful town with wonderful if busy waterside moorings. That was before I realised that it would be 5 days 3 hours and 94 locks. Each way.
Little wonder John was less than thrilled at the prospect (for retired English teacher Duncan the sparkle of Stratford rather outshone the pain of 94 locks at first - but the truth sank in after a bit of thought.)
So we thought let's try Warwick - grand castle and all. At 41 miles and 39 locks it looked a breeze in comparison. Three days, easy!
And then we noticed that the last 8 miles included 20 locks, which is not so appealing, so we looked for an alternative terminus. And that's how we ended up in Napton, a mere 27 miles and only 14 locks, achievable in 3 days - or two at a push.
What should have been a straightforward cruise started with a slight delay as we had to drive to our starting point at Welford (we rarely leave Welford before 11 am) and so we moored at Crick as the most convenient spot (good pub, the Red Lion, Crick - very good fish pie) leaving the tunnel and the Watford flight till tomorrow.
All was well until the next morning when an attempt to start the engine showed a completely flat starter battery. Batteries these days do have a tendency to go flat very suddenly and though there had been some evidence on our battery condition monitor it was not at all clear.
Fortunately we have three batteries, so switching to the other two got us going immediately. But now what to do? Retreat to our home mooring a day away or go on to Braunston a half day on, through locks and tunnels? We opted for Braunston and its excellent chandlery, phoning ahead to ensure they had a suitable battery in stock. We would be there by lunchtime.

The Watford flight was slow going, with a stream of solo boaters needing assistance going up and leaving us waiting at the top. Then the Braunston tunnel had eight boats coming up towards us so we proceeded with caution having previously lost more than one navigation light in the tight pinch points.
Finally to the top lock at Braunston - only to find that the lock gate was jammed shut and they were having to drain the lock and the pound to get at something jammed under the gate. This took nearly two hours of hard work before poking and pushing, bouncing and pulling extracted a large log and allowed the pound to be filled again. Well done the men from CRT, especially Brian with his metal spike, floppy hat and his alluring waders.

The Pound beginning to drain. Note the emerging mudflats to the right.

Now we were nearer tea time than lunchtime, so it was 4.30 by the time we reached Midland Chandlers at Braunston. Fortunately they are open until 5.30 and while John did the hard work of removing the old, installing the new, and checking the other two (in surprisingly good condition despite being 9 years old!) I wandered around the shop and selected paint and boat wash. John certainly deserved a pint at The Boat House and another at the Old Plough that evening.

John works on the batteries

Note that The Admiral Nelson, a popular lockside pub, does not currently serve food on Mondays or Tuesdays. Beware! Try the Old Plough in the village instead!
And so we came to Napton on the Hill, to the winding hole at Bridge 111, next to where there was until recently a pub - The Bridge at Napton, now sadly closed. Winding here and mooring near bridge 110 we were near enough to The Kings Head on the main road where, to cut our brief but eventful journey short, we caught a taxi to Leamington and thence home by train.
Our return journey will be in the next post, while Patience recovers.

Up the Ashby. Part 1, widening the tunnel at Braunston

The plan was to leave our base at Welford and reach Snarestone at the top of the Ashby Canal by the end of the week. We could then leave Patience at Snarestone, return home for a week, retrieving Patience to take the return journey to Welford. This would require some safe car parking, and the generosity of our wives in taking and collecting from the further ends of the canal system.

The first stretch from Welford to Norton Junction, through the Watford flight (pictured), is old territory for us now, and we sped through in good time, mooring at Norton and surviving the perilous walk in darkness across the lock gate from the pub.

Day two, through Braunston, was a little less successful, as the uneven sides of the Braunston tunnel and oncoming boats nudged Patience into the crumbling wall of the tunnel, scraping off a navigation light at the bow and a piece of brick at the stern. Apparently the chandlery at Braunston do a regular line in green navigation lights; I was obviously not the first boater to have scraped against the tunnel walls. Nevertheless there was little damage done - it certainly sounded worse than it looked.

So through Braunston with its busy waterfront, proud metal bridges, shop full of excellent boating literature (I bought Rolt's "Narrow Boat" here) ...

and eventually moored up at Newbold on Avon, where the Barley Mow is right next to the moorings and Rugby (and rugby) always seems not far away (they portray the game even on the underside of their canal bridges).

This north section of the Oxford canal is interesting and new to us, and to highlight the sinuous route of canals John points out that at a point just south of the Hillmorton flight on the Oxford Canal east of Rugby, we were only 4.5 km (3 miles) as the crow flies from a point just north of Crick on the Leicester Arm - but about 17 miles by canal. See the red line below. And we passed Crick two days ago ....

However my favourite contrast between routes is between our original mooring at Stretham on the Ouse near Ely and Ware in Hertfordshire on the River Stort. I drove between them in an hour, (48 miles down the A10), and used Canal Planner to show that it would take SIXTEEN DAYS by boat, (230 miles, 7¾ furlongs and 162 locks) , having to go up the Ouse, through Denver Sluices, along the Middle Levels, River Nene, the locks at Northampton, the Grand Union down to the Regent's Canal and finally up the Lee and Stort (see map below). The sooner The Ouse is connected to the GU joining Bedford and Milton Keynes the better!

But now we're about to reach the Ashby ....

Braunston to Yelvertoft - via Warwickshire

Thursday 25th September. Up betimes to carry out our cunning plan to boat not only in Northamptonshire and Leicestershire, but also Warwickshire, where the boundary lies a short way down the joint Oxford & GU Canal. It's a whim, but one easily achieved if we get up early turn at the Braunston Junction and wind at a winding hole a short way down the Oxford & GU.
Early means just 7am and I find the moorings misty wit the slow moving smoke from cosy boats stoking their stoves in the first chills of autumn.

Bridge 1 at Braunston

The bridge over Braunston Marina

Bridge 1, early morning mist

The Grand Union Canal at the junction with the Oxford. Preparing to turn left (west) up the Oxford & GU

Returning to Braunston Junction on the Oxford & GU. Preparing to turn right (east).

Back at Braunston we moor up for a gargantuan spread - The Gongoozler's Big Breakfast - at The Gongoozler's Rest Café, a smallish boat (14 seats) at the mouth of the marina.

This breakfast fuelled us for the whole day! Recommended!

And so, well filled, we head back through Braunston Tunnel, passing other boats coming the other way with three inches to spare, sharp left at Norton Junction, up the Leicester Arm, up Watford Locks, Crick Tunnel, Crick itself and moored up at 4pm at Yelvertoft again. 

13 miles and 13 locks including the Warwickshire diversion this morning.

Crick to Braunston

Wednesday 24th September. Heavy rain overnight clears early and by the time we've passed through Crick Tunnel the sun is out. Before we know it we are under the M1 and queuing to go through Watford Locks. If we had a Ladybird book at about Bridge 5A it would show a fast train on the west coast railway line, the M1 motorway and Services and the Leicester Arm of the Grand Union canal (plus a plane flying above) all in the same place, for they almost interconnect here, near Long Buckby.

As we go under Bridge 6 I recall eating terrible fish and chips at the restaurant there 20 years ago, now renamed Mango Lounge and closed.
It takes an hour to get through Watford Locks (staircase, 7 locks, 16metre fall) ...

... even with a helpful lock keeper, then we reach Norton Junction at 1pm and, not pausing for lunch at the tempting pub to the left we charge on to the right and  on the Grand Union proper.

 Through the Braunston Tunnel for 20 minutes and we approach that boater's mecca of Braunston itself, though there are still 6 locks to go through before we reach the moorings by the marina. So it is 3.45 before we finally moor up, 10 miles, 13 locks in 6 hours 20 minutes including 30 minutes waiting at Watford Locks.
In late afternoon we wander up the hill away from the canal and into the village. Down by the canal it feels like a full-on canal village with hundreds of boats, busy comings and goings, two chandleries, eating places and various shops - but in the village itself they live a separate life, it seems.

Bridge over the Junction of The Oxford and The Grand Union

The Junction facing south down the Oxford Canal

Bridge on The Grand Union at the entrance to Braunston Marina

Under the bridge at the marina entrance

In the evening we stroll back up the towpath to The Admiral Nelson, widely recommended as the best for food and we entirely agree. Here is a view as we entered the lock on our way down.  It's a good place where we were well looked after and well fed.

Back to Patience, torches in hand, and we notice that Winter Moorings commence on October 1st. Clearly we are nearing the end of the season, when only hardened liveaboards stay out on the water. So we light our little stove, newly renovated, and our thoughts stray towards winter.