More fenders needed for continued quiet.

Yesterday I had a walk into Bugbrooke village.

The original part of the village seemed to consist mainly of Great Lane and Church Lane along with The High Street forming a squared area with a few minor streets leading off it, and was quite pleasant.

The large community Primary School looked a very pleasant setting to begin your schooling.

Some nice thatched and non thatched properties.

And a great view spoiled by this building.

The remainder of the village consisted of what appeared to be mostly 1980’s housing in a maze of cul-de-sacs and was not very inspiring.

Karl had caught up with me and today we moved on to Weedon Bec another short but very pleasant cruise, the weather was good as I led us off about 10:30 passing this boat which had me wondering about the inspiration for the name.

Mostly a tree lined meandering route opening up occasionally

passing very busy little mooring sections and more built up areas.

Karl stopped off at a very busy Stowe Hill to take on fuel while I carried on ahead to find a suitable mooring, I didn’t have to go far as there was a nice two boat gap on the visitor moorings right by the steps leading down to the church grounds and village. It would be a very good mooring except for the fact that the edge is sloping concrete and my fenders are ineffective because of the slope, so every boat that passes causes my boat to bang against the concrete, must buy some spare larger type for these situations, inside the boat it's loud and jarring. 

Karl N.b. Lizzie Jane behind me

Tonight’s mooring.

Total today : 4 Miles

Another little hop forward

This morning at 6am the sun was shining brightly and not a cloud in sight, I decided not to stay at Gayton Junction as I will be passing back the way soon to venture down the Northampton Arm and besides that the wi-fi signal was very weak, I was in no hurry again though as the next village is only about 4 lock free miles along the canal.

My ribs are still a bit sore from the fun and games yesterday, but a nights sleep has eased them.

I set off around 11am and the next bridge along (47) was, I think, the first example of a ‘turnover’ bridge that I’ve seen.

These bridges were often built when the towpath changes sides, they meant that for the old working boats the horse could cross the bridge and continue along without the need to untie from the boat, very useful. Obviously there are many different examples of bridges and 43a and 43 show how varied they can be.

These two are within just a few hundred yards of each other.

Still quite a few sheep around, this lot just be given their lunch as I passed by.

The high speed railway follows the canal again in this area, although it does keep to a much straighter line J  I thought I’d give it a go to snap one as it came into view at around 100mph, I was quite pleased with this effort.

It not uphill, I had to spin around and snap as I heard it approach

I thought I had got the middle of the train, he was into view and gone in a matter of seconds, probably never even saw me pootling along at about 4mph.

I have moored up at Bugbrooke (what a lovely name for a village) and may stay tomorrow if there’s much to see or move on again.

Tonights mooring.

Total Today: 4 Miles

Addendum to yesterday:
I have just realised I did not explain the weed hatch in yesterdays post, it is, if you like, a box with a lid and no bottom accessible from just below the stern deck, it's situated above the propeller, it's awkward, small and an arms stretch down but better than getting into the canal to clear anything that has fouled the prop.

A bit more than I had expected

I decided to move just a mile up to Gayton junction where the Northampton Arm branches off, it would only be a hop so I was in no hurry at all. I walked into Blisworth and got some milk and when I got back to the boat Karl was getting ready to get the bus into Northampton, I will be going down the Arm a little later maybe around 2nd or 3rd July but Karl does not want to do it, there are 17 narrow locks so 34 to do the return journey but I have my reasons for wanting to put the effort in.

So around 11:30 I set off, past this lovely Bungalow

it had beautifully landscaped grounds with a large pond behind the tree on the left but I couldn't get a shot because a boat was approaching and it was too difficult to turn back as I was passing the other boat.
On a bit further past Blisworth Marina

and then through bridge 48, the Northampton Arm goes off to the right and I am intending to moor up on the left as soon as possible after this bridge.

So I spot my gap and start to knock off some speed by slipping her into neutral, when the time is right I turn into the gap by giving her full right tiller and a short burst of forward gear, then once I have the bow where I want it full left tiller and another burst of forward to bring the stern to the bank, at this point I am only at crawling speed but a short burst of reverse will slow me to a stop, into reverse and the response is a loud bang/clanking noise and a puff of white smoke and the engine stalls, 'that's not good' I think but more pressing is getting the boat stopped and moored, as I was only crawling into position no real problem, once tied up securely I put the kettle on.

Tea made, start the engine and she runs ok, lift the engine cover all looks normal, a stab into forward gear (I know I shouldn't with the boat moored but it was literally a second or two), that shows nothing, repeat but in reverse loud clank, juddering and puff of white smoke and she stalls.

Ok so something wrong, stalling, I have read this in other blogs, trip down the weed hatch required.

I finish my tea, open the weed hatch and put my hand in to find it totally filled with something thick and plasticky feeling, pull some out and this is what I find

I am not sure, at this point, what it is but I suspect it's a cratch cover or something similar, 1 hour 15 mins later some bruised ribs and one very sore forearm and a lot of tugging pushing and pulling from inside the weedhatch and hanging off the stern and reaching underneath and this is finally released.

It's a heavy duty tarpaulin about 3metres square, probably blown off a boat. I let it drain for 10 minutes and carried it off to the service point bins situated just inside the Northampton Arm.

Now at this point my fortunes change, I have been trying to get rid of my 240volt redundant fridge in a responsible manner i.e. not dumping it on the towpath for others to deal with, there is a couple moored opposite me working on their boat so I shout across and ask if they could use it F.O.C., the young lady walks along the towpath over the bridge and back down the towpath to my boat, has a look and say's 'yes please' I suggest to her partner he unties his stern and poles the boat across leaving the bow tied and I can pass the fridge across to him, and then he can pole it back again, it worked perfectly, but the clever chap was also thinking and had tied a rope and bought it across, so he just pulled the boat back, now I have a clear cabin again and they have a fridge. Lovely jubbley. 

Tonights mooring

Total Today: 1 mile

A walk through Blisworth

I had a wander around  Blisworth which is another small village alongside the Grand Union Canal.

Walking along the High street I saw a reminder for me of what was once commonplace and is now largely redundant with the advent of Mobile Phones (cell phones).

Past the village store, a fairly comprehensive stock of groceries, and up to Elm Corner.

Imprssive thatched cottage one side of Elm Corner

This was an important junction in the 17^th to 19^th century and along the adjoining  High Street were many shops and cottage industries, now only the village store remains.

This distinctive layering of local ironstone and limestone in the buildings is only found in a relatively small area surrounding Blisworth

Layered Ironstone and Limestone building on the adjacent corner of the junction

Blisworth won Northamptonshire’s Best Village 2012.

St John’s The Baptist Church stands large and proud n the High Street .

There was also the mandatory  nice village pub, the Royal Oak with a fine selection of real ales, good food and friendly locals, dog friendly and a nice garden area where I spent an hour sampling two of the real ales.

As with so many of these little villages it seems almost like a step back in time to a period when everyone knew each other and people talked instead of passing by with eyes fixed on their mobile phones, nobody passed me by without  a ‘good morning’ or a nod, or even a short chat.

This little one would do for me.

On to Blisworth

Karl had moved up two locks yesterday as he needed water, well actually he steered his boat while I worked him through the locks.
Today we wanted to head off to Blisworth so with the sun shining I prepared myself to go and catch him up, everything ready the lock ahead was against me but I was prepared for that, just about to cast off and saw a boat heading towards the lock from behind me, lovely methinks, I'll share with that one, as he drew nearer another boat appeared, they were sharing already, oh well, a quick cuppa and then I'll move, as I started to cast off a boat moored two behind me set off and the chap shouted 'if you want to share I'll go set the lock, you go straight in' ahhh sweet music to my ears we worked through the two locks together both doing our bit, it worked well, I had explained that I was meeting Karl so as we left the 2nd lock I let him go ahead so that I could warn Karl of my approach and fall in behind him for our little trip through Blisworth Tunnel.
In 1980 the tunnel was closed for four years and the bore re-lined, this is one of the concrete rings that were used lying just before the entrance, it does look small when you stand next to it but two narrowboats can pass each other in the tunnel, if you want to come through in a widebeam boat you have to book your passage with the Canal and River Trust, there is no towpath though so if you want to walk it you have to walk over the top. It is 3,076 yards long and takes roughly 30-45mins to get through. Originally boats were 'poled' through like they do with the punts at Oxford but then 'legging' took over, two people laying across the roof head to head and pushing the boat through with your feet walking against the tunnel walls, oh what fun the must have been, I'm glad we have engines.

Karl waited til I was close and set off on the short run to the tunnel. I passed this lovely little tug on the way, it was really quite small in height and sitting low in the water, but it did look good.

It didn't take long before Karl was disappearing into the South portal of the tunnel

As I entered it I could see my tunnel light was pointing too high, it was all clear behind so I stopped the boat and walked along the gunnels and adjusted the light, but as soon as I started moving again the light swung back to it's original position, not to self, tighten the fixings on the light! It was ok though, the shock of going from bright sunlight into pitch black made it seem worse than it was, once my eyes had adjusted a bit more I could see a whole 3 or 4 feet in front of the boat, no problem J

No pictures inside the tunnel, my flash decided this would be the best time to not work, it was a cold, dark, long, and often very wet, but for me a weirdly pleasant journey, I was disappointed nothing came the other way, I would have liked to have experienced passing a boat in there but I'm sure it will happen in the future somewhere.

Emerging from the darkness I forget to check and see how long it had actually taken, this is looking back at the North portal which was built with blue bricks whereas the South portal was built with red bricks, I wonder why.

I passed Karl who was not sure where to stop and we carried on the short distance to between bridges 51 and 50 where I saw some nice pilings and moored up.

Tonights mooring.






Total Today 3 miles: 2 Locks : 1 Tunnel

A visit to the Blacksmith

This morning I walked along the towpath to find the Blacksmith, Bob Nightingale who started his own business in 1990, his workshop is just before the entrance to Blisworth Tunnel and what a nice man he is, I arrived just as he was setting up, my Bubble Stove grate support had badly warped and although it saw me through my first winter aboard the warping meant that a small guard just inside the door wouldn't fit properly and allow air flow up the front of the door which is why my door kept sooting up.

Warped grate assembly which supports the actual grate.

The parts supplier website said that if this part was warped due to the temperature becoming too hot and uneven a replacement would be neccesary, cost £44.95 inc VAT and delivery.

Bob looked at it and said 'let's see what we can do' he stopped setting up and fired up his mini-furnace, while it was heating up we chatted about various things and he showed me some of the things he did, from boat hooks to wrought-iron work of all types, he allowed me to wander around looking at things as he got to work.

A few belts with the hammer, lose all your stress.

And here is the result.

Flat again, and it has been re-fitted into my stove.

The overall process took about 15 mins but most of that time was heating the metal, a tour of the workshop, some history thrown in, cost £2.00, that's what I call service. If you need a Blacksmith give Bob a call or visit his website Bob-the-blacksmith

On the way back I passed 'The Boat Inn' a very nice pub, good selection of real ales, I had previously sampled two of these, and very busy popular restaurant  attached or bar meals, also has a small shop within which is very handy for boaters.

Just before lunchtime there was a knock on my roof and it was Karl asking if I fancied trying the two main meals for £10 at 'The Navigation' I don't normally eat a main meal at lunchtime but I thought why not, so we walked up the towpath and had lunch accompanied by a beer. It's a bit more modern than The Boat Inn but offers free Wi-Fi and a reasonable range of beer, and a fairly typical pub menu, I had 10oz Gammon steak with fried egg and pineapple, chips and peas, it was what it said it was and ok for a fiver.

The canal museum is about the last thing I want to see here and it was shut when I passed by this morning, but having looked on the website I see it opens at 10am so I will have a look at that tomorrow and then weather permitting move on Wednesday.

Swan Life

This is what happens when you open your side hatch as a family of swans are passing.

Did I hear a side hatch opening, turn around kids, might be food, dad's already passed he's on guard.

Feed me, no, feed me, no, feed me, oh just chuck us some food.

Dad more aloof, keeps an eye on proceedings from just outside the group.

Stoke Bruerne

Yesterday when we were ready to set off towards Stoke Bruerne Karl’s Glo-plug light was not working and his engine would not start, we had a look and found a loose nut holding the fuse assembly in place, I tightened that up and the light was still not illuminated but the boat started.

A short hop along to the outskirts of Stoke Bruerne and we stopped on the 48hr visitor moorings just before lock 20, no pictures of the trip as I had let my camera battery go flat but I took this one of the mooring once it was charged.

This morning I wanted to get closer to Stoke Bruerne the weather was very undecided going from dry and cloudy to light rain, anyway at about 11 we decided to do it and Karl’s engine would not start again, Karl had another look but couldn’t find anything obvious and after persisting to try it did eventually fire into life. We got moving about 11:15 and stopped at the services so we could both just top up with water, I got rid of my recycling as well. The short cruise, if you could call it that, through the flight of 5 locks took about 2 hours, it was miserable drizzle most of the time and the only real event was that Karl managed to drop his Vape thingy (imitation cigarette) into the cut, so he wasn’t happy about that £30 evidently. No pictures as the weather was dire and with locks so close to each other there was little time. I am now moored on the 7day visitor moorings just before lock 15 and within very easy walking of Stoke Bruerne itself.

I need to locate a blacksmith who is apparently here somewhere and see if he can flatten my stove grate for me and I want to have a look around, visit the Canal Museum, and partake of the two public houses. I will probably stay until at least Tuesday.

Views from the side hatch

Total both days:  2 Miles : 5 Locks

Yesterday when I was putting some bottles of beer into the fridge I found this one

That's not cricket is it, good job it wasn't the last bottle in the fridge and me desperate to quench my thirst, it's only got about three mouthfuls in it, a visit to Mr Tesco's complaints department will be happening.

A little move

Karl’s repair was finished by 11, so we decided to just nip along to Grafton Regis, we set off at about 11:30 through open countryside with views of Grafton Regis in the distance the church just visible

we are in sheep country with lots of lambs, now growing well, and sheep grazing in the fields and meadows.

We moored just before bridge 57 which carries local traffic to the village and I had a bite to eat.

I wandered off to have a look around later in the afternoon, down the towpath and over the bridge and then a short uphill walk to the very tiny historic village.

Looking back down at the Canal from halfway up the hill to the village

In 1464 Elizabeth Woodville who was born in Grafton married Edward IV in the village. 

In 1529 unable to obtain an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII finally parted company with Cardinal Wolsey here and began the process of setting up The Church of England. Henry spent part of almost every summer of his reign here, and made the Woodville’s manor house into a palace the remains of which were destroyed in the civil war siege of 1643. Here endeth the history lesson for the day.

Saint Mary The Virgin parish church of Grafton Regis dominates the tiny village

which sadly now has the busy A508 running across it and forms the third side of a triangle encompassing the village. The village pub ‘The White Hart’ is facing this main highway. I didn’t venture into this one.

More examples of thatched cottages including this one

and ‘Grove Cottage circa 1600’ in Church Lane.

Mooring view from the side hatch and opposite.

Total today: 1.5 miles : 0 Locks