Well oiled

We pulled pins at Gifford park at 09.45 on Friday and cruised for 5 hours eventually arriving at our favourite all time mooring at Grafton Regis.

                                             Carolyn fell in love with these 2 on route at Cosgrove lock………. No she is not having one.

                                                   The view from our mooring up towards the village of Grafton Regis.

                                                         One for Curly… That 2 headed sheep is still here and she has just had 4 lambs.

After a good night at Grafton Regis we pulled pins at 11.30 on Saturday morning which was very late for us. For some reason we just couldn't get going.

                                      At the bottom of Stoke Bruerne lock flight we topped up with water and got rid of the rubbish.

We were joined on the flight by Roger and Kim on Nb Rearsby .It was good to meet you both and hope your repairs go well. Its always good to share the locks as it saves water and all the work doing the locks is cut in half.

                          A short distance after the top lock at Stoke Bruerne you enter the 3076 yards of the soaking wet Blissworth tunnel.

This is the view you get just after entering the tunnel. Blissworth is a very straight tunnel and in the centre of the picture you can just about see the other end. Yet again we got absolutely soaked but had a good old laugh all the way through. We didn't meet any other boats coming in the opposite direction and did it in 29 minutes which is the quickest we have ever done it.

We picked up this rural mooring just the other side of Gayton Junction….Ideal for Train spotting .We stopped at about 15.30 as we wanted to watch the Grand national. What another waste of money that was . Carolyn said i should have picked the winner as it had a connection with wine.

On Sunday with the wind picking up we pulled pins at 09.00 and started heading towards Whilton . The wind got worse as the morning went on and on a couple of occasions we ended up going down the canal sideways. If it had got much stronger we would have had to stop.We eventually arrived after 3 hours of a windy cruise and picked up a mooring below the bottom Buckby lock .

                                                On the way we passed this boat….Why would you have a ball towing hitch on the back of a boat ?

                                          Carolyn says this boat name describes me perfectly …..I don't know what she means.

            Inca on the far left , Moored again opposite Whilton Marina with the M1 Motorway on one side of us and the High speed train on the other.

                      Buckby bottom lock with plenty of water going over the top. The overflow was caused by a boat locking down in the lock above.

With Daughter Chloe and Granddaughter Curly coming to visit on Tuesday we have to decide if to stay here or move up the Buckby flight to Norton junction in the morning….. Decisions decisions……

                                                                   Happy Days

Silly season starts

We pulled pins on Monday at 09.20 from Campbell park in Milton Keynes and cruised the short distance to Fenny Stratford after filling with water on the way.

As soon as we arrived at Fenny Stratford we managed to pick up a 24 hour mooring which suited us just fine as we only planned to stay the night after Carolyn hits the shops . I was asked if i would like to join her ladyship at the shops and i thought what the hell go for it. I think the only reason she asks me is so that i can be her personal Carthorse and carry everything she buys. Anyway i did buy myself a pair of Croc plastic shoes, and very comfortable they are….. No comments please.

          On Tuesday morning we pulled pins at 09.45 and headed towards Stoke Hammond and came across this…….. The end of Gulliver’s travels !!!

We soon arrived at one of our favourite moorings at Stoke Hammond and after washing all of the Sahara sand off of Inca it wasn’t long before i was fishing in glorious sunshine and the mercury just nudging 20 deg C. There were Carp moving around in the reeds opposite our mooring but i couldn’t entice them onto my hook ….

                                                                                The view from our port window across the Ouzel valley.

The silly season has started. We have started to see loads of hire boats on the move. This hire boat moored in front of us and the crew went off walkabouts. And within ten minutes of them leaving the stern mooring pin had pulled out and the boat was wedged across the canal. Of course we did our good deed of the day and pulled it back in and securely moored it.

               We had this Mandarin duck for company and he kept pecking on the hull for us to feed him…… What a handsome chap he is.

                                              And here he is with his Mrs…Funny how females are not as good looking as males.

After a day of chilling out at Stoke Hammond on Wednesday we pulled pins on Thursday morning and winded (turned) and headed back north. After Carolyn moved the bridge in the centre of the lock at Fenny we locked down and headed towards Giffard park.

                                                                           We passed this boat ….Another great name.

                                                Carolyn in the distance walking Molly and Hamish in Great Linford Park opposite our mooring for the night.

Tonight is Chinese takeaway night and yes David i am going to have a Chinese curry. I have not decided what to have with it but it will have to compliment the Marques del Norte Rioja that we have just opened.

                                          Happy Days

Cream teas in Milton Keynes

We pulled pins at Cosgrove at 08.30 on Friday and headed towards Wolverton to do a big shop in Tesco. There are good moorings there and it is only a short distance to the shops.

This is us crossing the Cosgrove aqueduct. I just have to go over it slowly and stand on the side overlooking the drop. I am not brilliant with heights but you just have to do it. Carolyn was in her usual place down in the bedroom shouting “For Christ's sake get a move on” as she is no good at all with heights.

                                                            Approaching Wolverton and passing the now disused railway sheds.

                                                    We just managed to get on the end mooring in Wolverton.

                                                              This boat was moored there as well. Not the ideal way to attach a mooring rope.

                             After emptying Tesco's shelves and filling Incas we passed this chap on route to Gifford park…. He seemed happy enough.

We picked up this mooring just before the pub at Gifford park.The thing i like about this mooring is that there is a Chinese takeaway about 100 yards away. And if there is one thing i miss its a good curry.

After a good curry on Friday night we pulled pins at 09.15 on Saturday morning and made the short journey down to Milton Keynes and moored close to Paul and Lorna on nb India.We met them last year when we passed through on our way to London and always stop and enjoy a good chat when we are passing.

After mooring we went for a walk down to Willen lake and the water skiing where they are pulled around the lake with a over head cable. Well , I just had to have a go and this is me in action just coming off a jump.

I want one of these. We bumped into this guy flying this machine. I thought it was brilliant. It can fly for over 15 minutes at a height of 2000 feet and is about 18 inches long and has a camera that is linked up to an i-phone which is held on the remote control. Carolyn was all for me getting one until the guy said it was £900. Oh well ,I can always dream.

On Sunday afternoon Paul came over for a good old Devon cream tea made the correct way with the jam on the top of the cream and not under the cream like them silly bu**ers down in Cornwall do. Paul really enjoyed it ,  almost as much as i enjoyed his Irish Whiskey…Cheers Paul…..

When we looked out of the window on Monday morning we saw this mink going in and out of the rushes looking for birds and birds eggs. Nasty things !!!!

We are now about to pull pins and head down to Fenny Stratford. Carolyn enjoys the shops there so we will spend the day there and then decide what to do on Tuesday morning.

PS…… It wasn't me water skiing …..but i reckon i could have done it. (not)

                                                         Happy Days

Mud glorious mud

On Monday at 09.00 and in full sunshine and light winds we pulled pins at Whilton and began our cruise south.

                                                                                  “Come on Carolyn Put your back in to it”…... And guess what her reply was !!.

                                                                                                  Smoking. The view when steering Inca.

                                                                                        Love the name……   Must be somewhere in Wales, me thinks.

                                                                            Canal side wall near Stowe hill….  I don't think i would employ this builder.
We ended up at Nether Heyford and spent all of Tuesday inside Inca due to the constant rain. The towpaths were drying out a treat and it was so good not to have mud everywhere but now we are back to the mud. We made an early start on Wednesday and headed towards Stoke Bruerne stopping off at Gayton junction to fill with water as Carolyn did a couple of washes whilst on route.

          Just below Furnace Wharf we passed this boat. You may remember this is the boat that Guy Martin Messed up restored in his TV series.

The picture above shows one of the left over rings from when part of the Blissworth tunnel was re-lined in the early eighties and shows the diameter of the tunnel and how it all locks together.We have been through the tunnel many times but this is the first time we have noticed it
We got absolutely soaked in the one and three quarter miles of the Blisswoth tunnel . It took us just under 30 minutes to go through as i wasn't hanging around to get any wetter . Molly and Hamish do not like tunnels at all and they just shake the whole time we are in one and Carolyn has to try and keep them calm. We have tried leaving them down in the boat but they seem less stressed out on the back with us.                                                           .

                                                              Inca outside of Stoke Bruerne Museum waiting for the top lock to fill.

                                                                On our mooring at Stoke Bruerne and Back to muddy towpaths.
After a good night at Stoke Bruerne we pulled pins on Thursday morning and after the first lock we teamed up with another boat and that made the locking down a lot easier. They had only been aboard for 5 days and they were on their way down to London ,we didn't get the guys name but the lady was called Susan. We hope you both enjoy your cruise down south.

                                                                                 This is the best dressed horse we have ever seen.

                         Simple……2 surf boards held together with a ladder, solar panel charging the batteries and an electric outboard.

After nearly 4 hours we arrived at Cosgrove and just after getting moored the skies went black and then there was a thunder storm and heavy rain. We were lucky we never got caught out in that. We are not sure how long we will stay here but we have good TV and internet ,but and a big but, there aren't any shops for Carolyn, so i guess we may well be on the move again tomorrow.
                                                                 Happy Days

Bang Crash Wallop

We pulled pins at Braunston at 09.15 on Saturday morning and headed straight onto the service point to fill with water and get rid of waste.Just outside of Braunston marina is a floating cafe called the Gongoozlers rest. Every time we cruise by we get hit with the odour of fried bacon. But this time we decided to stop and get a couple of bacon butties and they were just the ticket. Next we hit the Braunston flight of locks and were joined by Nb Dawn. They were new live boards and had only been aboard for 5 weeks but seemed to be enjoying it so far.We had intended to stop at Norton junction but as the weather was fairly good and there wasn't a great deal of room we carried on down the Buckby flight and picked up a mooring below the bottom lock.


At Buckby top lock ..  If looks could kill. I jumped off with the windlass and all i said was i will do this lock you steer the boat in and lock down….. Don't worry i took it down the lock ….(I think the look will be even worse when Carolyn sees I've posted this picture).

                                                                                                                             FIRE.

                                                                                                  Summer is coming.

                                                             The strangest tender we have ever seen. Not sure what it is used for but he was towing it.

The view from our side hatch, we are moored at Whilton opposite the marina. Ideal if you are a train spotter. On the other side of us about 100 yards away is the M1 Motorway so this has to be one of the noisiest moorings around.There is a good farm shop just above the bottom lock and Carolyn always likes to stock up from there. There is a Garden centre and guess what ? A Chandlers..We only spent £7 pound in there this time on a new holster for Carolyn’s windlass. With heavy winds forecast on Sunday we decided to spend the day here and then move on Monday morning.

                                                                                                                          I wish i was as happy as him.

The winds certainly were strong on Sunday. There were a lot of boats moving and all passing us very fast as they couldn't control their boats at low revs in all the wind. Half way through the football (well done Spurs) there was an almighty bang in front of us. The boat in the picture above had come out of the marina and decided to reverse back onto the diesel pump at the marina. In all the wind he could not control his boat and after hitting the boat in front of us very hard he then gave us a right old bump and started scraping up the side of us. I jumped out of the side hatch and pushed him off and he then went bang into the boat opposite. After refuelling he tried to get back into the marina. In the picture after revving the nuts out of the engine and hitting yet another boat that was moored below the marina entrance he is actually trying to pull the boat with the bow rope into the marina entrance. In total he hit 4 boats and he couldn't even bother to say sorry….What a NOB.
We are now starting to get some good results from the solar panels as the days are longer and we have had some good days of sunshine. On Sunday we never ran the engine at all and we were getting up to 17 amps which for March is very good.
                                                                    Happy Days