20th Week (w/e 22/8/2016)

Well that’s week twenty of our adventure completed. Twenty weeks of continuous cruising, yet most of the time it feels like we have just started our journey. In a couple of weeks I’m going to work out how many miles, locks and hours we have spent doing this, but I can tell you this we have done 100’s locks and 100’s of engine hours – but all incredibly enjoyable, for most of the time.

So how did this week plan out ……???

On Tuesday we headed off from Weedon, still ranting on how great the curry was from the previous night and also feeling a little tired. Neither of us had managed to sleep too well, we had moored too close to the railway line and the trains through the night and especially early in the morning had kept us from our deep sleep. I had also been up a couple of times during the night with indigestion, caused from the spicy meal. However, we battled on and after a couple of strong coffees we soon felt fine which was important as we needed all of our energy to complete the seven double locks of the Long Buckby flight. We decided to moor up just before the first locks near to Whilton Marina and do what all boaters do, visit the Chandlery to see if we needed anything. Last week when we met Graham and Indie, he had shown us a brilliant ‘gadget’ a roll up, fixed step ladder that can be hung from the rear of the boat to enable someone to get out of the water easy, should they have the misfortune to fall in. Here at the Chandlery for £20 we were able to buy one. The guy behind the counter was a boater and we soon got into discussion about the benefits of suitcase generators. I could see this was boring Sandra to tears, so I hurried the conversation along and decided as we left to call in next doors which was a small café for a late breakfast. What a super little place, we had two small cooked breakfast and two coffees for under a tenner, and we were very pleased indeed with the service and quality of the food. We sat outside in the sun, a really beautiful day. After we decided to spend some time looking around the boats for sale at the marina, there must have been over thirty for sale, many of them in need of love and attention. We never seem to see exactly the same as ours, but we did find a near contender and were shocked that a boat five years older than ours was up for sale for nearly £70k. Around 12 noon we decided to head back to the boat and were happy to see another boat waiting to go up the locks, we asked if we could join them and soon we were entering the first of seven chambers. The boat we were sharing with was a hire boat family, lovely people from Bournemouth. This was the second time they had hired a boat and quite clearly they liked canals. They were taking their time; they were going as far as they could and stopping and taking their time along the way and on Wednesday they would turn around and enjoy the journey the other way. They thought this was better than rushing to do one of the ‘rings’ most hire boaters seem to think they have to do, to get their money’s worth out of there boating holiday. We all soon started to chat, and when he asked what we did for a living, I found myself almost apologising for taking early retirement – weird or what? Half way up the flight, we decided to have a half hour break. Soon we were finishing the last lock which had a canalside pub against it, which was very tempting indeed. The family were heading off for Braunston and we were turning right onto the narrow canal of the Grand Union heading towards Foxton so we said our goodbyes. We then started to look for moorings. Earlier on our journey we had moored around this area, so we were very aware that moorings were at a premium. We past a little boat called Fox, which thought it was bigger than it was, as it had taken up two moorings spots (pet hate!) and soon in the shade we found a mooring, slightly on a corner, but secure enough to moor up safely. We were both tired, and not only that I had come up in a rash on both legs, not itchy but quite unsightly. The last time this had happened I had to visit the hospital where I was told I had vasculitus – linked to an allergic reaction. There is nothing they can do for it and it often gets worse before it gets better. Sandra and I both agreed that it must be linked to the filthy horsefly bite from earlier on. We settled down for the evening, both feeling as If we were back home, Foxton was now only a day or so away – but we would take a leisurely week to get there.


On Wednesday I woke up feeling terrible throughout the night I had suffered from diarrhoea and stomach cramps – exactly what Emily, our daughter, had just got over a week earlier. It’s so easy to pick up bugs along the canal, and quite clearly I had – but, I still felt well enough to get moving. Living with a strong woman, letting the side down didn’t even enter my mind and wouldn't be an option. As I was checking the engine the guy moored up behind popped his head out, Dave, and started to chat with me. He was originally from London and when he used to work with deprived children, he had been asked to crew one of the boats they had hired for a holiday. During this week he had fallen in love with canal life. When his mum passed away he was able to leave London and buy his first boat, a project to say the least. He was a real friendly guy and I felt sorry that his first boat had caused him so much angst, requiring, re-plating, new batteries and alternators. I asked him if he had requested a survey on the boat, and he had not. Soon we were saying our goodbyes heading for the Watford Locks. Today was definitely a hot day, too hot in fact and really we should have just moored up in a shady spot. It was therefore very depressing to find that there was a faulty lock on the flight and this was causing major delays for boats going up and down the flight. We went to find the keeper to be told we were sixth to going up, but there were lots to come down and to therefore be ready to wait for up to three hours! We were fortunate to find a spot to tie up and we promptly pulled up the pram cover for sun protection. We got lunch and soon we started chatting to people. The very small gap between our boat and the one behind was soon filled up with the ‘Fox’ boat – definitely not taking two mooring spots this time. The two people came off their boat to chat and although I had thought they were plonkers the previous day, in fact they were really quite nice. They had moved from London to Market Harborough for a quality of life change and value for money in housing, although one still worked in London (55 minute train journey). They were also able to by their 30ft weekender boat which they had put a lot of love and attention into. As the conversation carried on I steering it to mooring protocol and they soon realised that in areas where moorings are scarce, it is not polite to take up two spots! The three hours soon passed and 35 minutes later we were exiting the Watford flight. I had asked the lockkeeper how the lock had become damaged and he explained that someone had come through the locks around 8.00pm in the evening and must have rammed the gates by his boat. We decided to moor up soon after in one of our favourite rural spots. It was incredibly hot and our thermostat showed 30 degree. We showered and decided to have a salad, rather than cook. Not one of my favourite foods to say the least, but probably good for someone with a dodgy tummy. Another night without alcohol!


Thursday wasn’t so hot, and what a relief, the night had been so humid and warm, neither of us had got much sleep, I had also been restless with stomach cramps one of the symptoms of my diarrhoea episode. We had a little breakfast, and then both of us set off with bleary eyes. Soon we were entering Crick tunnel, coming towards us I could see another boat, I asked Sandra to use the hand torch to tell me if I got too close to the sides of the tunnel. As we got nearer the boat I was surprised to say the least that the oncoming boat did not slow down, as he passed the swell from his boat literally slammed Captain Hastings against the tunnel wall. I could hear the scraping of the paintwork. What a total idiot. We exited the tunnel and Sandra leaned over and reported back that we had scratched down to the metal some of the yellow cabin paint. I was so upset over this. We both carried on along our journey in silence and seething over the behaviour of the boater. I decided to call Yelvertoft Marina, a superb marina managed by great staff and occupied by some amazing and lovely boaters. They were pleased to have us moor there again temporary, and as we had helped tow in one of their moorers boat awhile back, they would not be charging us for the three days. Our mood started to improve; our faith in our fellow boaters was getting back to normal! We moored up in the spot we had moored a few months previous, plugged in the electric and had a rest – we needed it. Later, I looked at the boat damage and as the day wasn’t too hot I decided to rub down the loose paintwork and make smooth, I then applied two coats of primer and after this had dried, one coat of undercoat and when this had dried and been rubbed smooth a couple of topcoats. By teatime the boat looked perfect again. Whilst I was doing this, Sandra went into her cleaning mode and spring cleaned the boat (she does this at least once a week, as well as a deep clean every day!) and prepared a lovely Italian style risotto evening meal. We had another early night and again – no alcohol!
Friday we had an early start, Emily was picking us up to go home. She arrived at 8.15am after dropping Elliott (husband) off at the airport; he was going off to Helsinki for a weekend with friends. It had been a long time since there were just the three of us and I had really been looking forward to this. It had been over a month since I had seen Emily, and both of us couldn’t believe how her ‘baby bump’ had grown. I couldn’t wait to give her a massive hug; it’s good that both of us are very tactile people, quite the opposite to Sandra, who often looks at us in bemusement when we have one of our ‘moments’. She had driven my Mercedes over and it had been ages since I had driven this and to be honest I was quite happy to put my foot down and experience a bit of speed for a change, even though Emily more than once informed me that I was only going 42 miles per hour along the road! Once we got home we were really pleased with the garden, which had just had a gardener in to sort out the trees etc. For the rest of the day we organised things and enjoyed the space. I switched on the Juke Box – and enjoyed the music up loud! And in the evening we were joined by Rob and Elaine, Sandra’s sister and had a super family meal together, and for the first time in ages a couple of glasses of wine. We all had a good night.

On Saturday, which I thought was Sunday (all day!!) we went shopping for boat supplies and also purchased our first ‘box’ of wine from ASDA to try. We also went to view our new moorings. Earlier posts had highlighted that we would be mooring at Debdale Wharf Marina, as permanent moorers, even though we will be off on our travels for 6 – 7 months a year. This is because both Sandra and I prefer to have a mooring for the boat we can call home, even though we will be doing our canal adventures. However, we have always longed for a non-marina mooring, but with electric and water etc. Well on Saturday we came up with a compromise mooring spot. North Kilworth Wharf had called us to inform us that they had a mooring spot we might want to view. When we arrived we were shown a vacant mooring spot along the canal, but with electric and water close. So we shook hands and agreed to takeover this mooring from 1st September. We decided to drive Sandra’s car to the wharf and leave it there in readiness for when we arrive with our boat. We left very happy indeed. When we got back to the house we were pleased to be joined by Micheala and Taylor and one of Emily’s work colleagues Beccy and the six of us just had a chill out evening with a fish and chip supper.
Sunday Emily dropped us back at the boat in Yelvertoft. We were pleased to get back to normality and for the rest of the day, after I had checked the oil and we filled up with water, we chilled out. At around 3.30pm we left the marina and moored up soon after in a rural countryside position. We watched TV and had a nice meal and were soon in bed. We just can’t party like we used to!


Monday was a chilly and wet day at the start and for the first time in ages I had a jumper on. We took a slow cruise along the 23+ miles of lock free canal. We love this stretch of water and have cruised this area a great deal. We had a phone call from Emily in the afternoon, saying she wouldn’t mind meeting up for coffee, so we agreed to moor up just before bridge 37, not far from North Kilworth where the road passes over the canal. Soon she was on board along with three nice cream cakes, by this time the weather had picked up and the sun was out. We sat on the back in a beautiful rural location – even Emily agreed how lovely it was – and enjoyed another few hours of family quality time. We just can’t believe how lucky we are having such a beautiful daughter both inside and outside. Family is absolutely everything. Later when Emily left we were lucky to have a good TV signal, along this stretch of water the signal, even with a booster has been terrible. Once we got the TV up and running we enjoyed, well Sandra enjoyed, Emmerdale, and then we had dinner a lovely chicken and vegetable casserole in a creamy and mustard white sauce – heavenly, along with our first glass of ‘boxed’ wine. The wine was average, but what do you expect at the price we paid – it worked out at the equivalent of £3.50 a bottle. Those that know us well know that we never drink cheap wine – unless we are drunk, or it’s free, or comes with the meal at Wetherpoons (ha ha ha)!!

So another week is over, we are getting close to where this year’s cruising adventure ends and we moor up for the winter months. We will be quite sad that this year is over; however, we are both ready for a little ‘normality’ in our lives. A few months relaxing with a car, no worries about electric, shopping or running out of anything. A few months being close to family, doctors dentists and being able to visit our usual restaurants and of course the cinema every week. Not least the birth of our first grandchild in October – which to be honest is like waiting for Christmas, but not knowing what day it falls on. I know we will be the ever doting grandparents, and I absolutely know Emily and Elliott will be brilliant parents.

19th Week (w/e 15/8/2016)

Well we have just finished our 19th week aboard Captain Hastings. This week we have reverted back to ‘taking our time’ mode, which means we have been able to relax more and charge up our batteries from the river Thames period. We have had some gorgeous boating weather which has helped us enjoy the last week a great deal.

So how did this week go ......??

On Tuesday we awoke to another lovely sunny day with a slight breeze which helped keep the heat down as we left Milton Keynes Marina. We had a lazy start and it wasn’t until after 12.00pm that we manoeuvred the boat steadily out of quite a difficult mooring spot. We were pleased we had use of bow thrusters which meant we could almost turnaround on the spot. Leaving the marina we past the pub which had been such a disappointment. Soon we were back on our journey, a sausage sandwich in hand as we meandered on the canal through Milton Keynes. We had heard negative comments about this place and even our cousin had commented the previous night when he joined us that we must be mad wanting to stay around Milton Keynes. In fact everyone was wrong, we found the place very pleasant indeed, the waters were clear and the amount of greenery, parks and woodlands around are unbelievable. Some were particularly beautiful, such as around Stantonbury Park Farm. We passed with ease through many of the suburbs, Great Woolstone, Willen Park, Great Linford and New Bradwell before mooring up at Wolverton. An unusual spot, with posh waterside apartment’s one side and an industrial railway building the opposite, now converted into business units. We ‘googled’ what was around and realised that a 15 minute walk away there was a Tesco and Asda close by. We set off with a shopping trolley, Sandra in control of this as I still find it an embarrassment to be pulling one. We ended up nipping in for essentials at Asda. Afterwards to our delight we found an Indian store close by. We love these stores, the smells of the herbs and spices. We have a good selection already on board, so we purchased some garlic and ginger paste and some chapattis for use with one of Sandra’s authentic Indian curries. Soon we were back on board, although a nice mooring spot, we felt it was too closed in, so around 4.00pm we moved off and were lucky to find a semi-rural spot about 20 minutes further along. Opposite our boat was an Antique warehouse called ‘G Daddy’, so we thought we would visit this the following day. We settled down for the evening, a nice meal and no wine. We had both decided earlier in the day that we should resist all temptation of alcohol and have a few days without any!


Wednesday was another sunny and warm day at Old Wolverton. We walked over to the bridge to visit ‘G Daddy’ and thoroughly enjoyed routing around the bric a brac. Sandra trying to hunt something down appropriate for our forthcoming grandchild. Afterwards we were eager to visit the cider factory a little further along and were disappointed that it was closed on this day. We returned to the boat and headed off, not before noting that the solar panels were pumping 20+amps into the batteries. It looks as though the £1200 spent on this system was worth it – well in sunny weather! We were soon passing through Cosgrove where we stopped for a little lunch, beautiful place made even more special by the wonderful weather. After an hour or so, we moved onwards through the countryside and finally stopping around 4.00pm near to Yardley Gobian, a super mooring just past Yardley Wharf Marina. Sandra using the pressure cooker cooked a brilliant Indian curry and we just had to enjoy a glass of wine! Both of us commenting that we have zero will power!


Thursday was a wet and damp day, first one of these sorts of day for ages. Sandra awoke in one of her ‘can’t be bothered’ moods. However, we headed off around 10.30pm appropriately dressed for the cooler climate. We arrived at Stoke Bruerne locks around lunchtime. We locked upwards with a hire boat family who were very nice indeed, in fact as we moored up in the pound before the last two locks, he shouted out that if he saw us in the pub later he would buy us a drink! Both of us on this day were clearly not our normal jovial selves. We seemed to have to push ourselves to do the simplest of tasks. We still managed to visit the museum we had heard so much about and barring the ridiculous fee (nearly £5 each) to go around the two floors of artefacts it was worth the visit. We walked past the two pubs, both realising that today they were not going to have our custom. We returned back to the boat and enjoyed a salad with a savoury omelette, with no alcohol. By nine we were both tucked up in bed.


Friday we both woke up to a lovely warm and sunny day, we had made the decision to stay another couple of days at Stoke Bruerne, our daughter Emily and Elliott, her husband, were joining us on Saturday and we were going to drive to the Blisworth Boat Festival, which seemed an easy option than trying to fight for moorings there. However, today we decided to have a chill out day and enjoy the weather. Our battery banks were almost full, going from 78% up to 83% in a short time via solar energy. Sandra decided to do some sewing, which she loves and is very good at and I decided to find a good insurance deal for our car, as the insurance was running out on the Sunday. As usual I used ‘Compare the Market’, they search for best deals and you get free cinema entry (2 for 1 ) during the week and, more importantly Sandra would be able to get another cuddly toy to add to the ten or more she already has. I sorted the insurance out quite quickly and also managed to get a free MOT thrown in – bargain! I then went down into the engine bay, pretending I knew what everything did – in fact I was cleaning and tidying, checking oil and grease etc. But I came up with dirty hands and felt a man! We decided around 5.00pm that we would get showered and ‘poshed’ up and go out for the evening. We ended up going for a few beers at The Boat Inn, a lovely canalside pub. We watched the meals come out and the fish and chips looked amazing – massive fish that hung over the plates. However, there was a smell in the air that we knew only too well – a curry smell!!, opposite we could see an Indian Restaurant and Take-away, we decided in unison that we were both going to have one of them. We started our second beer – mine was an IPA at 5.7% and Sandra was on pints of Stella, when a couple joined us called Dave and Dawn. These were two Londoners – Dave being a retired black cab driver and now a published author of books and Dawn who still worked in a call centre role after leaving her previous stressful job. They weren’t boaters and before long the usual questions came our way, do you have running water? Do you have a shower? What about the toilet situation? Etc etc. We answered them all and told them how wonderful the lifestyle was – but I don’t think we convinced them. Around 9.00pm, we said our goodbyes, they were clearly into a session, and headed to the Indian. Our dog had been left on the boat, so we thought it wise we get a take-away rather than a restaurant meal. When we got back to the boat, and started to eat our meal, we soon realised that it was one of the best Indian Meals we had had in a long time.


Saturday started off as a dull but warm day. Both of us were excited as we were seeing Emily and Elliott in the afternoon. We hadn’t seen them for nearly a month and being a really close family – this had been a long four weeks. We both busied ourselves, I painted the black on the side of the boat as it had rubbed off in places and then gave the sides a really good wash and polish – it took me hours, but it looked like brand new paint when I had finished. After the trauma of Emily getting lost in the car trying to find us, we finally met up at the pub around 1.30pm. We were soon off to the Blisworth Boat Festival. This was the first time we had visited this and some of the trading boats via Facebook had told me to say hi. It’s always good to meet up in ‘real’ time now and then. All of us enjoyed the afternoon, I managed to meet up with the ‘pen’ boat and ‘dog’ boat trader boaters who were so nice and both said they were trading really well. This was good to hear. At around five we headed back to Stoke Bruerne and decided on eating at The Boat Inn. Sandra and I had our eyes on the lovely fish and chips. When our meal arrived we were very disappointed. Our fish was four fingers wide, not hanging off our plate and the chips were not chucky. Emily decided to complain and we were told they had run out of fish so they had cut it in two!! We were not happy and soon the manager was there who agreed for us to pay for small fish and chips – how kind! We never let it ruin the evening, and we carried on laughing and enjoying each other’s company, the sad part was saying goodbye. We got back to the boat around 7.30pm and ended up watching a good film before getting to bed around 10.00pm.


On Sunday we woke up a little later than usual and behind us were neighbours. Neither of us could remember them being there the night before – but soon we were chatting and they had indeed moored up the night before. Our neighbours were Graham and Indie and we immediately knew we had lots in common. Indie whose family originated from India was a keen cook, especially Indian foods – which is the same as Sandra, and before long Indie had given Sandra some extra hot chillies and some herbs to try in one of her recipes. As we chatted we realised we had more in common. Twenty five years ago we owned a Café and two restaurants and funnily enough we found that our neighbours also own a catering business. They own a cake company in London supplying cakes, and cupcakes to many restaurants and business clientele – they told us about an order where they had to produce 10,000 cup cakes for an International Company in London. We all got on really well and agreed to meet up again – they have friends in Market Harborough near to where we live – so we said our goodbyes knowing it would happen, not long afterwards I received a text message reminding me to keep in touch. This is the magic of the inland waterways, you meet such a diverse range of lovely like minded people. We love it. Later we were heading through the Blisworth tunnel, one of the longer tunnels on the canal system measuring over 3000 yards. Exiting the tunnel we were soon passing through the festival which was still going running on the Sunday. People were waiving to us and a couple of the trader boaters shouted out to us – jesting about the colour of our boat (as usual). We were soon at Gayton Junction where the Northampton Arm joins the Grand Union Canal. Just a little further along, just after Bugbrooke we moored up – just before Nether Heyford where we found a lovely rural mooring spot, plenty of space for the dog to run. We settled down and had a cosy night on the boat.


Monday was another warm and sunny day. Today was Emily and Elliotts 1st wedding anniversary. We had already arranged a Moonpig card to be sent to them and when we met up with them on Saturday we had given them a ‘paper’ gift for them. We both reminisced over coffee how much has changed in the year just gone. This time last year Sandra and I were still working as a teacher and school Principal, Emily worked in London as senior teacher in an inner city school and Elliott worked as a chartered accountant in the film industry enjoying the high life attending premieres and going off to the Cannes in France for the Film festival and both living in London. Now, Sandra and I have retired and mainly reside on our floating home – Captain Hastings, Emily is now Assistant Director in a Northampton School and Elliott is a Financial Executive in a growing midlands company, and both now living in Northamptonshire – wow, all within the first year of their marriage! Oh yes, and Emily is having a baby, if you didn’t already know. Before leaving our mooring I decided to give the canopy a good clean with Milton and soapy water, this usually did the trick of killing off the green mould which seems to be attracted to these covers, Sandra did one of her spring cleans of the boat – we showered and soon we were on route. We were pleased to pass Bob and Jennie Reeves who shouted hello as we passed them, lots of people recognise the colour of our boat and many people read our blog, so it’s great to meet up – even for a few seconds. We finally moored up for the day, just past the aqueduct opposite Weedon Wharf, a short distance walk into the village. Nice mooring spot, but noisy due to the railway line. We decided to nip out for a couple of beers, the last few days had been quite ‘dry’! We ended up at the Heart of England pub where we were going to eat – however a pleasant group of lads had complained about their steak meal – and had not been treated very well by the staff. We hate this, clearly their steaks had been over cooked. So we decided not to bother – and thank goodness we didn’t, because we were fortunate to find one of the top Indian Restaurants we have had joy to sample their food, since starting our boating adventure. The Brinjol served the most beautiful food Indian food, lots of it and such a reasonable price. We finished the food off with a couple of beers and soon we were off to bed, full and contented with life.


So another week over, heading for Long Bucky flight and the Watford flight of locks next week as we get nearer to our permanent moorings – although this could change!

18th Week (w/e 8/8/2016)

We are now into our 18th week of our continuous narrow boat adventure and for those who have been following our blog posts, you will see that there has been far more highs than lows as we have travelled the canals and rivers from the midlands north and then down to the south along the Thames. We are now heading up the Grand Union to our permanent mooring at Debdale Wharf Marina near to Market Harborough and Foxton. One thing we have realised is that although we like long trips, we miss having a ‘home’ for the boat, somewhere where we can return to and call it our home. Choosing Debdale also means we can keep in touch with family and it’s not too far away to our bricks and mortar home.

So how did this week go ……..???

On the Tuesday we decided to move from our mooring at Berkhamsted. We had really enjoyed our time here and it reminded us very much of our old home town of Market Harborough. There was also a Waitrose really close to the canal, so we were able to stock up on essentials. The weather was wet but not too cold and so we headed off around 10.00am. We filled up with water, like I have said previously; we prefer to top up at every opportunity, rather than run low and have to wait for ages to fill the tank up. I had ‘googled’ the nearest Screwfix and Jewsons and found both of these stores were close to the canal as we left Berkhamsted, so after about ten minutes Sandra held the boat (rather than mooring up) whilst I went off hunting for a replacement lump hammer. I returned with a slightly less heavy hammer than the one that was stolen – but sufficient to do the job. Back on board we continued our journey along the grand union passing through some seven heavy going locks. Both of us cannot believe the state of disrepair of this part of the canal system. Everything has been ‘fast fixed’ – on the cheap. The locks leak terribly and at one there was a four inch gap in the locks which meant we were waiting for ages for the lock to fill. Water levels were also low, with the boat dragging along the bottom resulting in very low cruising speeds. We both commented that we doubted we would ever come this way again. We passed through North Church, Dudswell and finished mooring up at Cow Roast absolutely tired out. This was just past the marina where Rach and Tim live and moor their boat – we tried to look out for their boat, but it is well protected by trees and bushes. We moored up half a mile further down from the marina, in the countryside. Sandra was looking forward to her Emmerdale ‘fix’ but the TV signal was too poor, so she wasn’t happy at all, working hard all day and then having no TV. We opted for a DVD and then settled down for the night with a homemade Cottage Pie. We decided that we would not participate in a glass of wine, we could easily drink every day, but we have decided that we would have two day breaks – this was one of them.


On the Wednesday the day started cloudy and colder than what we had been enjoying. We set off around ten and started our journey towards Linslade. Around eleven the clouds dispersed and we had full sun for the rest of the day – very hot indeed and not ideal as ahead of us were a lot of locks. As Sandra doesn’t like driving the boat into double locks, most of the work was to be on Sandra’s shoulders unfortunately, so she wasn’t too happy! Fortunately after the 2nd lock we met up with another boat, a Springer 30ft with a family of Londoners. A grandad, grandma and daughter and grandson, they were real cockneys and had a real sense of humour, the day went really fast as we shared the rest of the locks, we had a laugh and joke throughout and even stopped for the obligatory ice cream along the way.. We were both surprised to find we had soon completed eleven locks. We moored up together just before Horton Lock opposite a dairy farm. Later we sat at the back of the boat and enjoyed a glass of red wine chatting to the daughter of the family. She told us they lived in Bethnal Green – she said it was changing a great deal as many of the local people are being tempted to sell their houses due to the high prices they can achieve. She then went on to tell us that her neighbour sold a two bedroom terraced house for £1.3 million. In the north you could buy a whole street of houses for that. The family asked if we wanted to join them again the following day, but when they told us they were leaving around 7.00am – we decided not to take up their offer. We had just had a couple of weeks of early starts and late finishes and we didn’t want to feel rushed again. Later I checked the engine oil (full) and tidied up the engine bay of leaves and cleared the drain holes. Sandra started to cook the evening meal (Nachos and chilli) when she received a call from her young brother where he told Sandra that after receiving his MRI scan results that he was now in full remission from his cancer. He could now re-start his life again with just one hospital visit a year. We both were so happy and pleased for him, so we decided we would celebrate by opening another bottle of wine. So on this day, it was one of the best days of our whole journey so far.


Thursday needless to say we awoke a little late around 9.00 in the morning. We had both suffered from ‘midgy’ bites during the night, a result of mooring opposite a farm. The boat was full of flies, so Sandra lit a handful of citronella candles and sprayed the boat with fly spray. We sat on the back of the boat whilst the boat was fumigated and noted that the Londoners had left! I started the engine ready for the days trip and also connected fly screens to the roof hatches and cratches so at least we had some protection for the rest of the day and night. We decided we would have a slow day today, so our destination was Linslade which sits alongside of Leighton buzzard the canal separating both towns. Only three locks ahead of us and after the first we waited for two old working boats selling fuel to come through. I took this opportunity to check my diesel and realised I was half full, so I used the boat services and filled up with diesel. First time we had used a trading fuel boat – but will definitely use them again. We were soon at Linslade, I did the usual ‘google’ check to check where the shops were and so on. We realised that there was a Wetherspoons and contemplated on visiting it as it was ‘curry night’, but decided against this. Sandra wanted a ‘proper’ Indian later on in the week. Just as we passed some houses to moor up, Sandra gave a little squeal! In one of the gardens backing onto the canal, there was a stark naked man tending his garden (the second streaker in a month!) We moored up on pins using my new lump hammer – and the weight difference of the hammer had made little difference. We then headed off for Leighton Buzzard where we found a pleasant town with all of the key shops we were looking for. We also went by Mary Norton’s house the writer of The Borrowers and Bedknob and Broomsticks – a blue plaque clearly showing this and as we passed there were young people taking pictures. We nipped into the Swan Hotel (Wetherspoons) for a coffee and then called into a bakers for some fresh bread and a doughnut for later. When we got back to the boat, the pins were wobbling around and we both realised the ground was too soft to hold our boat safely. We decided to move onwards and a short distance passed the town we found a lovely mooring where we could use ‘paperclips’ to hold the boat to the side. We had a cosy night onboard of the boat and enjoyed a lovely jam doughnut and coffee after our meal!


We awoke on Friday to another bright and sunny day. After checking and greasing the stern gland we headed off. Taking our time as usual we were astounded by the behaviour of a young female owner boater, as we were coming toward a bridge on tick over, the boater who had clearly moored too close to the bridge suddenly pulled out in front of us – literally 2 yards away. I went into full reverse as she gestured with her hands laughing at us. When in reverse our boat can be a nightmare and veered to the left and hit the bridge, fortunately it was slow and only the hull. I was also lucky not to drag up rubbish into the propeller – no boater in their right mind goes into reverse near to or going through a bridge! We continued along at tick over to give the boater some distance from us, only to realise she was also moving at tick over – after about two miles, we realised she was mad as a hatter – she kept putting her boat into neutral, almost willing for us to get closer. She then turned around and laughed at us. At this stage we decided not to play her game and pulled over to the the side for a coffee. What an absolute idiot. Later we went through the following three locks, and passed the boater who had moored up at a lock landing (typical) where she sat on the cut with a litre bottle of cider and a large cigarette (!!) clearly oblivious to us passing or indeed anyone else around her. Around 3.00pm just before Milton Keynes near to Stoke Hammond, we moored up in a lovely location with other boaters and in the countryside. Sandra got on with cooked the evening meal and I called Milton Keynes Marina to see if they had any overnight mooring spots. They had, so I booked three days. We decided having a few chill out days with full services would be beneficial to us both. The Marina also had a Toby Inn on site and would be an easy location for my cousin Terry to meet us as he lives reasonably close.


Saturday was another good boating day, bright and sunny. We left Stoke Hammond around 9ish as we wanted to get to the marina before lunchtime. We went through Fenny Stratford and quite enjoyed the canal journey, passing through countryside, housing and industrial landscapes along the way. At Peartree bridge we turned a sharp 90 degree turn, under the pedestrian bridge into the marina. We were a little shocked to find a place so full of boats. We slowly edged the boat into the visitor spot in between two boats which were up for sale. We walked along the gunnels and found the office person. We paid for the mooring and also a pump out. He then followed us to the boat and handed up the pump out pipe. We soon realise we would be doing the pump-out ourselves. He went off to get some blue and on returning I heard a guy who was cleaning the top of the hire boat shout out aggressively to him. He had put too much blue into the container. I walked over to the two men and was then given a cup full of blue. I said this wasn’t the usual amount I have received in other boat yards, only to be shouted at by the same man – telling me to go and get a pump out elsewhere if I was not happy! I was quite shocked, so I turned around at the guy and told him not to be aggressive to me and not to be so nasty to customers. I think this might have been the first time anyone had put him in his place, as he did not respond to me and continued washing the boat. The other guy walked back with me to the boat, thanked me and then told me I had just told the owner of the marina off. Good start! It took about an hour to empty the holding tank. The equipment was not in good working order and the seal was not very effective. After we moved to our allocated spot, all I can say is thank heavens there was no wind. It took all of my boating skills and the use of the bow thrusters to get into the mooring spot. We connected to electricity, filled up with water and the chilled out somewhat exhausted. It was about this time I realised that one of the bites I had got from mooring next to the dairy farm the other day had gone funny and as I looked down at my leg I could see I had an infection. I cleaned the area and then took some anti histamine tablets. We decided to try out the pub, early doors. What an experience, it was full to bursting. It took me half an hour to get served. Needless to say it put us off from having an evening meal, I endured another fight to the bar and then we both left and picked up an Indian curry from the take-away close by. It was a brilliant curry.


On Sunday it was a hot day and being in a marina and not moving intensified the heat. We both decided to catch up on jobs, cleaning, washing and so on. Later we were joined by Terry and his family and we chatted for ages on the back of the boat. We then went over the Peartree pub in the hope we would receive much better service than before. At the pub, although being a Sunday and the pub specialising in carvery style meals it weren’t as busy as we expected. We all chatted for ages; Terry’s dad and my mother were brother and sister. Terry who has been researching the family tree confirmed more of his findings and both of us celebrated that we had Irish, English and American bloodlines. We laughed that he had uncovered a lot of ‘skeletons’ within the family from the past. We enjoyed a traditional English dinner, roast beef, Yorkshire pudding and more. Sandra had been looking forward to a meal like this for a couple of days. It was quite good, although they were mean with the meat! We said our goodbyes around 8.00ish and by 9.00pm Sandra and I were in bed enjoying a downloaded programme we had missed on the ipad.


Monday was a cooler day than usual, thank goodness. It was our last day on the moorings, so we spent it getting organised and planning the next few weeks. Emily, our daughter agreed to meet us at Blisworth boat festival the following weekend. We have both been missing her a great deal. For the rest of the day we chilled, completed jobs, Sandra did some sewing and later prepared the evening meal. A relaxing and anther well deserved day off.


So, the end of another week. Great boating weather and so enjoyable. Next week we leave the marina and join up with Emily and Elliott at the Blisworth Boat Festival. Should be fun!