We dropped into the chandlery just below the locks at Braunston, to see what they made of the windlass that I broke the end off in Middlewich. The lady was apologetic, and replaced it, saying that she would pass the broken one back to the manufacturer. The core of the windlass looks different to the rest of the metal, and it looks like there is some kind of fault.
We then worked up the locks with a very pleasant couple, who were on their way up towards Leicester. It so often happens that you get chatting to some really nice boaters, and then never see them again.
David and I decided to play music in Braunston tunnel, to enhance the already surreal experience. One steerer coming the other way complemented us on our choice. If you thought that you were hearing snatches of "Dark Side of the Moon" while going through Braunston Tunnel, you can blame us.
Whilton flight
There is a very long pound after Whilton Locks, so, despite the fact that we would be home in a day or so, I decided to do some washing. Then, when we got to Gayton Junction, we took on water, and I did some much needed polishing of the brasswork.
Notice the 'authentic' headgear.
There were a lot of hire boats coming out of Gayton Marina, and heading in the direction of Stoke Bruerne, so we waited as long as we dared before another one appeared, and set off for the tunnel. We prefer not to travel through tunnels at a crawl - steering becomes harder for a start - and also don't want to hassle inexperienced boaters, so we try to give them a head start.
On this occasion the hirer in front of us was extremely nervous, and despite the fact that we had left quite a long time before we set off following them, we quickly caught them up in the tunnel. As our choice of music for Blisworth tunnel came to the end of the first track David and I decided that it probably wasn't a good idea to play any more, as it might distract the steerer immediately in front of us. We thought that he/she might not find "Tunnel of Love", quite as amusing as we did. (Perhaps one day I'll grow up - 'though, I do hope not)
We moored just past the tunnel mouth in Stoke Bruerne, and Alan and I went to check out the pubs for food. Despite having had a very indifferent meal in the Boat in the past we come to the conclusion that it would best suit our peculiar tastes, and decided to give it another go. It was excellent.
Miles: 20.0, Locks: 13
Total miles: 351.0, Total locks: 351
2 comments:
Have you tried using Widows Live Writer. That is how I write my Blog, its almost like using Word but you can upload direct or edit an exisiting Blog written with it. It has spell check and all the other odds and ends, you can add links and photos etc.
No I haven't yet, I do have various problems, like I'm not using my own computer while we are away. However, I'll look into it.
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