Nearly halfway - That all?
Ran aground in Billing Aquadrome – very embarrassing in front of dozens of people. After some running repairs including rescuing the rear button fender from dropping onto the rudder I set off for Weedon which was an easy three hour run. Pretty village (Lower Weedon) but not much there - the Plume of Feathers best of the pubs – don’t even think about the Globe!
Next stop was Norton Junction after 6 pretty fierce double locks which thankfully I shared with another single hander (Pete), we were also helped by a Canal and River Trust (CRT) volunteer who are really helpful and speed things up enormously by working the locks and getting boats through efficiently so they cross in the pounds wherever possible to minimise waiting. Norton Junction was very busy but I just dropped lucky and moored very near the excellent pub there the New Inn with good food and real ales. Had a long conversation with a young lady boater about life and boating much to the annoyance of her boyfriend who kept coming in from outside to suggest they leave. She was attractive but quite clearly as mad as cheese! Think she just thought I was just an interesting old man.
Next day was a similar run this time into Braunston with another 6 locks which again I was lucky enough to share with a nice couple from Doncaster who spend all their summers touring and winter in their house. This stretch also contains the Braunston Tunnel - over a mile (2042 yds) of sheer terror. I can safely say without any shadow of a doubt that fucking varifocals DO NOT WORK in tunnels. Braunston Tunnel is two way but is only a foot wider than two narrow boats side by side. I could not see a thing apart from around a square yard of brickwork helpfully illuminated on the ceiling about 3 feet in front of the bow – yes I know the lamp was set wrong! I managed to encounter three boats coming the other way and missed all of them but had some very interesting contacts with the very unforgiving brick wall. The first was particularly challenging in that the psychedelic display of lights coming towards me for about 15 minutes making me doubt my sanity turned out to be a nice little lady on the front with a torch! I won’t even go into the problems with an unmarked dog-leg in the bowels of the tunnel! Interestingly apparently this was caused by the fact the diggers started from opposite ends and they did not quite meet in the middle (I wonder if they wore varifocals? J).
Braunston is again a really pretty little village and steeped in history as it was/is the meeting place for two of the original great canals the Grand Union and the Oxford Canal. First night I spent in the quiet Old Plough talking to the locals and was rather taken aback when the door opened and a figure sat down next to me placing a huge handbag down on the bar, I turned to be confronted by a very large transvestite (turns out he is six foot five!) complete with wig, nail varnish etc. Not what I was expecting in a sleepy little village. Turns out he is a narrowboat master and takes people out for lessons (I declined to ask what the dress code was). Turns out this is a recent change (in the last two weeks and the locals are a bit confused by it also!). Had been to Midland Chandlers earlier and got a few things but was short of a circlip for the greaser. Got talking to James who is an engineer and next day met him in the pub and he sorted me out with one – good result! Spent the rest of the day there and did some fishing later and caught a couple of nice roach and a roach/bream hybrid of about a pound and a half.
Yesterday, moved on to Rugby via three locks at Hilmorton. They are unusual
(only another set in the country) consisting of three double single locks (side by side). Unfortunately one had broken causing a “boat jam”. By the time I got into the first lock there were 4 or 5 boats waiting behind me. As I went through the operations a large Yorkshire man appeared beside me and proceeded to tell me how I was doing it all wrong – so of course one of the ropes got snagged in the steps just to prove he was right! He was actually bombarding me with some useful advice but even so in front of several observers and in searing heat I could have quite happily bludgeoned him to death. Afterwards his advice about walking the boat out of the lock rather than going down slippery ladders is sound advice!
I have rapidly learnt that anyone you meet on the canals with a leather cowboy hat and white beard is a narrow boat expert and one can expect huge volumes of well intentioned helpful advice much of it which completely contradicts the last advice you were blessed with!
The moorings in Rugby are very crowded and the only pub nearby was a Chef and Brewer so moved on to Newbold which has two pubs – the Newbold Crown (very old fashioned but friendly) and the Barley Mow which is buzzing with great real ale and on the canalside. Moored at bridge before (No 51) as I was warned Newbold can get very busy and it was chocker all the way to the pub (mainly long term permit holders). Glad I did moor there because when I got back from the pub about 9.30 tried a couple of casts on sweetcorn and caught the biggest roach of my life at least a pound and a half perhaps two. I don’t know exactly because I went inside to get scales and camera leaving it in the landing net in the water and when I got back the fish was gone and the net was floating in the canal! Caught another last night and a couple this morning all around half a pound. Amazing because the swim looks nothing special and it is barely three foot deep but the fish are there and in prime condition. Forecast to rain all day today but will try later and in the morning before I leave to see if I can get a verifiable one for all you sceptics out there!
