It was not possible to add a mooring map to this page but there is a link in the sidebar.
This week we spent until Wednesday retracing our steps, Monday we got as far as Stoke Bruerne. We were hoping to get through the Blisworth tunnel but the Stoke Locks were a nightmare. We paired with a hire boat on which the two men stayed on board and the two women operated the locks. In the first lock woman “A” wound open the ground paddle to its full extent and was about to move on to the gate paddle when I called for her to leave the gate paddle and close the ground paddle down half way. The water was coming from the ground paddle opening in such a torrent that had the hire boat been at the front of the lock it could have gone straight into the boat via the well deck, which while unlikely to sink the boat before the paddle could be closed could have done plenty of damage and ruined their holiday. As it was there was no damage but both boats were flung about with the force of the water entering the lock. Woman “A” did at least do something unlike woman “B” who simply watched everyone else work. Going up the flight in front of us was a single hander taking not one boat but two tied alongside each other from London to somewhere north of Birmingham. He was apparently getting paid £350 per day to deliver the two boats which may have been good for him but a nightmare for following boats as he was so slow.
We got as far as the top of the Stoke Flight and finding an available mooring at Stoke Bruerne (normally as rare as hen’s teeth) we moored for the night ready to go through the tunnel first thing in the morning.
Being at the village of Stoke Bruerne with its two pubs and several restaurants Mark took us to dinner at the Navigation Pub. We all chose the “Fishermans Patter” fish and chips with prawn skewers and scampi - delicious, and so big we couldn’t manage deserts. Thank you Mark.
Just before we entered the tunnel bright and early the following day we were pulled over and asked to wait as a wide beam boat was coming through. 40 minutes later the 12’-0” wide boat appeared and we were free to go. The tunnel was wet and cold but we cleared it in just 35 minutes
That night we moored close to mile post 8 knowing that tomorrow we had just 4 miles and seven locks before we could start a completely new journey to Market Harborough up the Leicester Line of the Grand Union Canal to the top of Watford Locks along the 20 odd miles of the summit pond down the Foxton Locks then up the Market Harborough Arm to Market Harborough itself.
We started 09:15 the next morning and made good progress to the bottom of the Buckby Flight of locks (62”-10” rise) stopping just before at Wilton Marina to top up with diesel, 60 litres for 10 days cruising. Sounds pretty good to me considering we were not so long ago putting between £80 and £100 in diesel in the car every week and being red diesel that for the boat cost under £60.00 (just).
We had not seen another boat going our way all morning so were resigned to doing the flight on our own, we entered the lock and as we were closing the gates saw another boat in the distance coming towards us. We reopened the gates and waited, a couple, (almost) continuous cruisers, entered the lock and with the lady helming and the gentleman assisting the locks were still hard work, but nowhere near as hard as being on our own. Minutes after exiting the top lock we were turning left onto the Grand Union Canal - Leicester Line
It was evident from the minute we entered the Leicester Line that this was a very different canal it was narrower, it seemed shallower. We chugged on in the warm sunshine until we arrived at the Watford Flight of locks giving a rise of 52’-6” over its three single locks (two at the bottom and one at the top) with a staircase of four in-between. There was obviously a queue so we moored behind the last boat and I went to report to the lock keeper. He took our boat name and radioed the head honcho to get the OK for us to go up. He said "you’re the boat with the German Shepherd aren't you?" “No" I replied "that is directly in front of us”, as that boat was before us and he had already OK’d our passage they honoured that agreement and we both went up but it was well gone 4.00pm when we got to the top. The locks are supposed to be secured and the Lockies on their way home by 3.30pm. There was still a queue at top and bottom ready for when the flight was reopened at 10.00am the next day.
After the several hours spent waiting to or ascending the locks we did not go far beyond before we moored for the night in a spot close to the M1 motorway but (just) far enough away to be undisturbed by motorway road noise.
When we woke the next morning a little way ahead of us, on the towpath was a sleeping bag, reasonably clean but obviously used, a cooler bag and a small tent none of which had been there the night before. We examined everything to check there was no-one asleep but there was nobody about. We left it where it was and continued on our way. One of life’s little mysteries that will never be solved.
Thursday was a short day we stopped after four and a half hours just beyond the entrance to Yelvertoft Marina. We had heard of a shop named Squisito Butchers & Provisions in Yelvertoft village and were keen to visit but Google indicated very odd opening times. As we moored a lady passed us with shopping and we asked if she had been there “No” she replied “but I’ve just walked passed and it is closed”. An hour later as we sat on the stern deck drinking tea a chap went past and started to tell us about the fabulous shop in the village he had just visited. We rang to make sure and were told by the proprietor that they were open until 7.00pm. When we arrived we were staggered at the size and breadth of stock for a village shop. The owner Alex and his wife have a great passion for the produce they sell. We bought a 3.5 kg chunk of beef that Alex rubbed with lots of garlic, herbs and spices after which he put it in a bag and added best part of a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon wine and sealed it up.
We didn’t go to far the next day (Friday) less than eight miles with just one tunnel at Husbands Bosworth (1170 yards), we were looking for a pleasant mooring to cook our beef. We BBQ’d it - stunning!! I’m not a beef lover but I was amazed at the tenderness and flavour of the result. Of course it was not as cheap as a supermarket beef joint but to make that comparison would be to compare a Ford Escort with a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow, both get you from A to B but there the similarity most definitely ends.
Saturday was a big day for us we were going down the Foxton Locks flight. Two sets of five staircase locks which are always busy with boats and, according to the CRT lock keepers attract 350,000 gongoozler visits per year. Being a Saturday there were narrowboat traders moored at the top of the locks where there is also an ice cream/coffee shop. We booked in with the head lock keeper who was at the time sending a group of boats down so we were told to go down with them and around 15 minutes later we were on our way down surrounded by gongoozlers of all ages wanting to gawp, take photos, ask questions or help. The volunteer lock keepers had to keep fully alert not only to make sure the boat crews were operating everything correctly but also that the crowd was behaving and safe. At the bottom of the locks are two pubs, one either side of the canal, Bridge 61 also sells coffee and ice cream so having passed through a swing bridge onto the Market Harborough Arm (MHA) we moored and walked back to Bridge 61 (strange name for a pub but it is next to bridge 61 so . . . .) to get ice cream on what has been the hottest day of the year so far. I have added a YouTube at this point that shows part of the journey we have made and a decent of the Foxton locks although the boat tuber, David of Cruising the Cut, carried on up the Leicester Line at the bottom of the locks while we turned right up the MHA
Continuing our journey down the MHA we soon came to Bridge No 4, a swing bridge. I got off nipped across and after setting the “Stop” signs for the traffic then pushed the bridge open - by jabbers it was heavy. OK once moving but a pig to first get it started. After closing the bridge and opening the road barriers I could not remove our waterways key from the bridge control panel, it turned out that I had not put one of the “Stop” barriers back in quite the right place. A motorist who had arrived just after I closed the bridge had obviously seen this before as he stopped at one of the supposedly stored stop signs, jumped out of his car, pushed hard on the barrier and - TA RA - the key released and we could get under way again.
The trip into Market Harborough was a dream the canal was very overgrown in places it was like cruising down a 7’-0” wide green corridor. The MHA is a contour canal with no locks and goes three sides around Gallow Hill before entering the Union Basin at Market Harborough. We winded in the basin and found a 48 hour mooring just outside.
Mark took us to dinner that night at The Waterfront restaurant, Sue had Duck, Mark had Salmon and I had Seafood Risotto, it was all superb and again we were so full we went without deserts. A restaurant we would be happy to recommend. Again thank you Mark!!
Sadly a family crisis has caused Mark to cut short his stay with us and return home, we will miss him and his vast knowledge of canals and canal life.
This week we travelled 56 miles worked 32 locks running the engine for 33 hours.