Saturday 10th October to Friday 23rd October
Sunday 11th October
Well, we’re now at Hawkesbury Junction, the weather is fine and all’s
well with the world; except for those war-torn place of course.
Unfortunately there’s very little worth watching on TV, except perhaps
for Pointless Celebrities, so we usually content ourselves with Radio 2 and
noses in books.
Today we’ll spend an hour at The Greyhound at lunchtime and set off
tomorrow for bridge 26 on the North Oxford canal.
Monday 12th October
I do believe the summer is no longer with us; this morning has started
out quite chilly.
Yesterday I suggested to Wifey that we might take the bus to Tesco to
get some bread as we’re running a bit low and the local shop doesn’t sell
decent bread. However, I think it would make more sense to be on our way,
because the sooner we get back to Crick, the sooner we can have our heating
sorted out.
Tuesday 13th October
After walking to the shop for paper and milk, topping up with water and
disposing of our rubbish, we passed through the lock and entered the North
Oxford canal. From there it was about two hours and six miles to our next
mooring spot at bridge 23.
Today we’ll make our way to Newbold, which is another five miles away
and, when we get there it will be straight to the Co-op for the Mail and some
bread, a commodity we are fast running out of.
The good weather still seems to be holding up, although there’s
certainly a nip in the air first thing in the morning.
Tomorrow morning we’ll catch the bus into Rugby and, after a wee bit of
shopping, indulge in a coffee and scone at our favourite café.
Thursday 15th October
We took the bus into Rugby yesterday morning and shopped at Asda but,
after walking through the shopping centre and looking at printers, we decided
against calling in for a coffee and, instead, caught the bus back.
After running the engine and having our usual coffee and biscuits, we
decided to take Alex for a walk around Newbold Quarry Park. This took us about
an hour or so and, much to our dismay, we discovered that we had forgotten to
turn the engine off before we left. This has never been done before in the nine
years we’ve been on the cut.
Today we’ll toddle off to Hilmorton and may or may not go up the three
locks there. We don’t want to be in Braunston until Saturday, so we may moor up
at the bottom of the locks and go up them on Friday morning.
Monday 19th October
We went through the locks and moored up at the top, spending all day
Thursday and Friday there.
On Saturday morning we set off for Braunston nice and early, arriving
there at about 10.30 am. After walking up the hill to the shop for the Mail and
other bits and pieces, we settled in for the weekend.
On Sunday we had intended to walk up the hill to The Plough pub but,
since we didn’t know if they allowed dogs in there, we walked along the towpath
to the Lord Nelson instead, and sat outside watching the boats go through the
nearby lock.
This morning, after once again walking up that pesky hill to the
village for the paper, we too will venture through the six Braunston locks.
Whether we’ll also venture through the tunnel is another gether altomatter! We
might just stay at the top of the locks and go through the tunnel tomorrow
morning.
Tuesday 20th October
After passing through Braunston tunnel and cruising for about 1 ½
hours, we arrived at Welton Hythe marina, which is on the Leicester Arm of the
GUC. We are now just five miles and seven locks from Crick and should be there
for Thursday morning. We’ll stay here tonight and go through Watford locks
tomorrow morning and then, since Wifey wants to delay going into Crick marina,
if only for one more day, we’ll find somewhere to moor up a short distance from
the top of the locks.
This evening; and for the first time since we left Crick on 31st
of July; we’ll dine out at The New Inn, which is about half a mile or so from
these moorings.
Wednesday 21st October
….and a most enjoyable meal it was. I would rather we had moored
somewhat closer to the pub, which would have negated the necessity of stumbling
along in the dark for 20 minutes, but it was still well worth the effort. In
case you’re interested, Wifey enjoyed fish and chips, with a glass of red,
whilst I had half a roast chicken with chips and peas, with a pint of Guinness;
what else.
Unfortunately the weather man was correct in his forecast of rain
today, so we might be staying here for another day. However, should the rain
stop sometime today, we’ll move on and up the Watford Locks; all ten of them!
Thursday 22nd October
Yesterday was pretty naff weather wise, so we stayed put opposite
Welton Hythe marina. Spending a whole day in one spot due to bad weather can be
pretty boring, but we managed.
This morning has dawned dry and calm, so we should get to and up the
locks at Watford. We’ll moor up about a mile short of Crick tunnel and go
through that and into our moorings on Friday morning.
Friday 23rd October
This is the final day of our cruise for 2015 and we’ll be back at Crick
sometime this morning.
Where we would normally cover over 400 miles during the summer months,
we’ve only just completed 200, because we left Crick much later in the year due
to getting the stern deck repainted before leaving.
Still, it’s been a pleasant few months and the weather has been kind to
us for the most part.
So, since I’ll be starting a new winter blog tomorrow morning, I’ll
post this and wish you all a great weekend.
All the best to you all from Dave, Sheila and Alex.
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