Braunstone? maybe....

I was going to go to Braunstone today, it meant going up the 7 locks forming the Buckby flight, left at Norton Junction along Braunstone summit and through Braunstone tunnel (2042 yards) and then probably, if I couldn’t find a mooring before them, down the 6 Braunstone locks, so it looked like a good day’s cruise.

I could see the first lock of the flight (13) was against me through my monocular, so I got ready to cast off and then waited for a boat to come down the lock to put it in my favour, one cup of tea later and I saw a boat entering the lock so I set off, it made for a nice easy start and meant all 7 locks 'could' now be in my favour, unfortunately the next two leaked badly and were full and partly full by the time I got to them, no worries though, no rush, a bit of a wait at lock 10 as two boats were in the lock already

as they passed they told me another pair were following them, so that meant 10 and 9 were in my favour again and I could leave the gates open at 10 for the other pair, at lock 7 the last of the flight a single hander was just entering as I walked up to check the lock so I helped him through and then decided to stop after the lock for a cuppa, I moored up and while having my cuppa was looking at my book and wondering if I should actually stop at Welton and have a look at the village, I decided to wait and see what the mooring situation was when I got nearer.

I then walked along to the C&RT workyard and asked a man in there if I could dispose of my metal cratch frame in their skip and also deposit some used oil I had been carrying for months, he agreed so that was a bonus.

You pass some lovely property as you move along the canal, I loved the garden this one displayed. 

and when you are finished working on the garden you can rest on your boat 'Comfortably Numb'

Heading for Welton across the Braunstone summit

and black clouds started to appear and the wind was getting up a bit so that decided it for me, today Welton, tomorrow Braunstone, just as I had finished mooring it began to rain and I thought I had again made the right decision, but it was only a 15 minute shower and then the sun came out, I walked into or up to Welton, why are these villages always up a hill, about a 20 minute walk, it was pretty unremarkable, a nice church St Martins dating back to 1245

and a pub, the White Horse

no shops at all and no chocolate box lid houses, a nice enough village in a nice setting but not one to rush to see.

I needed some bread so I then walked back past my boat to Tesco on the outskirts of Daventry and at this point wondered why I had bothered buying a bike only to leave it on the boat, oh well next time, with hindsight I shouldn’t have stopped at all but gone ahead to Braunstone as planned but you don’t know unless you look do you.

Tonights mooring

Totals Today: 3 miles : 7 Locks