THE FIRST WEEK

MARCH 31ST--APRIL 6TH


At last, after a long winter, we set off from Braunston on March 31st.
We've been itching to get going, and were so excited as we left.
We turned right out of the marina, the first time we'd been this way by boat.
There are six locks out of Braunston.
At the first one, we said goodbye to Carol & Fred at The Boat Shop
and at the third one we said goodbye to Diane and Bruce at The Admiral Nelson,
a pub where we have spent many a happy hour imbibing and eating.
Diane and Bruce were sitting outside with a well earned drink, having just finished fifty-one lunches.
Diane pleaded to come with us!!

We went through the locks with Sally and Terry Crosbie on Dragonfly.
We had last seen them at Marple.

Then we went through Braunston Tunnel.
This is 2,042 yards long and took about twenty minutes.
You can just see a pinprick of light at the far end when you enter.
It's double width, so boats can pass, but, fortunately, there were no boats coming the other way.
After the tunnel, Sally & Terry turned left on to the Leicester to have their bottom blacked
and we continued on the Grand Union.
We went through the first of the Buckby locks and moored just below, a pretty spot, though somewhat noisy,
as we were between the M1, the A5 and the railway! However, we can sleep for England, so it didn't keep us awake.

In the morning we set off again, the railway keeping us company for the first part of the way.
We skirted Weedon and Bugbrooke and moored for the night in a much quieter spot
--just us and the railway this time.

On Friday, we went through Blisworth Tunnel, the longest navigable tunnel on the canal system at 3057 yards.
This took us about half an hour.
Stoke Bruerne is at the end of the tunnel, and we moored here.
It's a delightful little village, with a canal museum, several pubs and pretty cottages.
It's also popular tourist spot and there was plenty of activity.


STOKE BRUERNE

We decided that, as we had worked SO hard and come SO far (18 miles & 13 locks in three days)
we really ought to relax and wind down a little, so went to the pub for a meal!

We've had some wonderful weather--sunny days, and rain only at night.
Trees are starting to come into blossom, lambs are prancing around,
daffodils are everywhere and there is a lot of duck and drake activity on the canal!

We stayed at Stoke Bruerne for forty-eight hours, the maximum allowed by BW.
Then, on Sunday, we set off through the Stoke Bruerne locks.
There are seven of them, fairly close together.
The weather was diabolical, wind and heavy rain.
The wind made steering the boat difficult, and the rain made visibility pretty tricky through my specs!
We shared the locks with a couple who had just started a two year trip on their boat "Phantom".
They had taken two years off work and were setting out for London.
We were planning to go as far as Cosgrove, which is just north of Milton Keynes,
to be ready for the big push through Milton Keynes tomorrow.
We also needed water, and there is a water point at Cosgrove.


AN UNUSUAL BRIDGE, AT COSGROVE

However, when we got there, there was no mooring and it wasn't a very nice place.
So, we filled up with water, turned round in the disused Buckingham Arm
and went back the way we had come.
We knew there was a winding hole about a mile back,
so we turned there and moored up in the country.
The weather threw everything it could at us--hail, sleet, rain, wind--but we were very cosy indoors.

On Monday, we decided to go all out to get through Milton Keynes.
We didn't know what it would be like, and wanted to get to open country to moor for the night.
It was quite a pleasant journey. Much of it was rural, or at least "new town" rural,
in the sense of wide open spaces, parks, etc.
It was a long day--fourteen miles, though only two locks.
When we goT to Fenny Stratford, we moored up and walked up to Tesco to shop.
As usual, it was twice as far to come back as to go, with all the heavy bags!!
I said to Trev that we ought to get one of those "old ladies'" trolleys on wheels.
(Sorry if you've got one already........)

We carried on along the canal to try to find a quiet mooring spot away from the busy main road,
and eventually, just before dark, found a place just above Stoke Hammond Lock.
The dinner had been bubbling away merrily on the stove as we came along,
so we battened down the hatches and tucked in.
The weather today has been mixed, wet, windy and sunny, typical April weather.

We stayed here another night, which proved to be a good idea, as the weather didn't get any better.

This week we've done 32.5 miles and sixteen locks.

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