Heading Back.

Monday/Tuesday 4/5 October 2010
Stoke Bruerne to Buckby Top Lock
17 Miles 13 Locks.

Monday.  The weather was dry and bright today, we had to drop down 2 Locks to get to the wide section of Canal where we could wind (turn around) then it was back up to Stoke Bruerne where we filled the water tank, then through Blisworth Tunnel for the fifth and final time this year, nice gentle cruise to High House Wharf where we moored for the night just passed the Wharf opposite the Caravan field.
I had a good sweep up of the rear deck as we had gathered a bit of mud over the weekend where we had taken our boots off, weather forecast was for rain in the night.

Tuesday.  We had rain during the night but it had stopped by the time we got up and the sky was clearing for another nice day, got the fire going before we set off and then turned it down low so that when we stopped we could just open the vent and away it goes.

Called at Rugby Boat Sales which is situated at Stowe Hill Wharf for Diesel, at 68p a litre (before tax) it is the cheapest we have found all summer.
We started up the 7 Buckby Locks on our own but caught up with another boat so shared the last 3, these wide Locks are so much easier when you share with another boat, especially going up, with just 1 boat in the lock the turbulence as the lock fills pushes a single boat around.

 We met an Australian couple who stopped for a chat, they were walking to the New Inn for Lunch and, had recently bought a Narrowboat from Whilton Marina,  I told them that the Buckby Locks were possibly the hardest to operate on the whole system, so once past these, things get better.

We had planned to moor just above the Top Lock but found there wasn't room, not to worry I had overheard  a couple who were eating lunch at one of the tables outside the pub say that they would be moving their boat as soon as they had finished, we hung around on the other bank until they moved off, so that's where we are tonight, nb Hadar was moored behind but I think they moved back to squeeze another boat in.
It's taken all our willpower not to go over to the pub tonight,  but we had an expensive weekend and next weekend will be the same so we saved our pennies.

Tomorrow we will get to Braunston where we need to be for the weekend so that I can assist when nb Raymond goes into dry dock for it's annual bottom blacking and other maintenance.

nb Raymond in Braunston Marina Dry Dock last year.