1st to 7th June – Welford to Brinklow
I guess the first question might be “Why are you heading back to base now”?” Well, you may recall that our next “complication” is Paul heading off to Le Mans with my brother. We have had several plans for what to do with me and the boys whilst he is away. One was for me to be at Crick on the boat, another for the boat to be at Crick and me at Brinklow in Vera and now Plan C is to use the forthcoming weekend to hack back to Brinklow, where I’ll know more people and have a car. So that’s why!
But back to the week in hand. Rain had been forecast for Monday, but not until mid morning and so we set our alarm for an an early start. I really was not ready to get up, but needs must. It was a chilly morning – in complete contrast with last Monday – which was a scorcher.
We cruised for about an hour and half before pulling over, so that Paul could start work. By that time I was very cold and, when I sat to do dome work on Electrika, it was with my furry dressing gown over my clothes again. This country’s weather is bonkers!
We had spotted the World’s Greatest Harbour Master and Paul’s old school chum, Mark Willmott, as he cruised in the opposite direction. He was taking a boat to its new home in Nottingham. It was great to see him but I don’t envy him. It’s a lot, single-handed. But he’s used to it – and boating just has to be better than working!
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Electrika took up most of my day, as I was organising some advertising space in a couple of canal mags, dealing with ticket orders, chasing recalcitrant exhibitors, so it passed quite quickly. And the rain that had been promised never really materialised until the evening, so we needn’t have got up early after all. Curses!
Rain was also promised for Tuesday and this time the forecast was correct. Paul gallantly volunteered to take the helm so I kept him plied with hot beverages and toast to bolster his spirits. Supplies are low and we shall soon have to resort to ship’s biscuits (or hard tack) and pemmican. Fellow Arthur Ransome fans will recall this diet from his Swallows and Amazons series, but here’s an interesting video about anyway
Those books were written nearly 100 years ago, but I loved them as a kid. Although I always found the character called Titty a bit – well, naughty – even at my young age. Titty was the able seaman aboard the Amazon
We were due to arrive at Crick on Wednesday and so were seeking a mooring not too far away. There is a spot which I’ve long fancied, but which has always had a boat on it, every time we have passed – a measure of how desirable a spot it is. Imagine our joy as we approached it and saw that there was no boat on it! We moored there, just in time for Paul to start work and for the rain to finally stop! Flipping typical.
The spot is right by a winding hole, but there’s space for ome boat, tucked up tight against the reeds. There’s definitely not room for two boats in our opinion, otherwise you start encroaching on the turning arc for the winding hole, which makes life more difficult for turning boats. We were thus a little surprised when a boat chugged past us, winded and parked right up our button fender. We wondered if we’d nicked “his” spot? Ah well. We’ll be gone soon enough.
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We had a great thunderstorm on Tuesday evening at our nice spot, followed by sunshine and a rainbow. Expecting a blizzard any minute!
Wednesday was showery and nippy and I set off late morning between showers, for the short cruise down to Crick Waterside and Marina, where we’d be spending the night and slurping up a hearty chunk of electricity. The hot weather had caused us to seek shade and this had had a negative effect on the State of Charge (SOC) on our batteries. All that lovely solar wasted!
We are happy to cruise with our batteries at 60-80% but once it gets below 60%, it’s not easy to get it back up with solar alone. It feels like a bit of an anomaly running the genny in summer, but that’s what it’s for. To help out when solar alone is not enough.
We will also be slurping up a hearty chunk of Gin, as we are meeting with friends before attending an outdoor theatre production by Mikron. We had a lovely time catching up with Ali and Del, whom we’d met up with a couple of weeks ago, and we were also joined by Dave – World Class Manager of The Marina of Dreams.
Gins and nibs slipped very pleasantly down and then it was time to go and watch the performance. The show was called “Top of the Wold” – tales from a mobile library. The cast are multi-talented – singers, actors and instrumentalists – everything from a trombone to a piccolo!
It was absolutely freezing and blowing a hooley, but they put on a brave performance and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Here’s a little taster of the show.
When we said farewell to our friends and returned to the boat, I genuinely thought Paul had put the heating on, such was the contrast in temperature. Out came the furry dressing gown once again! And to think I very nearly left it behind, Madness.
It was very changeable again when we set off, at lunchtime, from Crick, which seemed to be the theme for the week. Changeable and chilly! I did not plan to go far – just through the tunnel and on to the first decent bit of Armco. It’s ironic that I actually got wetter in the tunnel than I did in the open air – more by luck than judgement!
I found the bit of Armco I was looking for and tied up for the day. Paul was deep in work and so I did some Electrika work to keep him company. We had stopped about a kilometer from the top of Watford locks and would cruise on down in the morning.
We had agreed that we would get up when we woke up, which turned out to be about 07:50. We were the first (and only) boat on the flight and were done and dusted by 09:00. And we are grateful, once again, to the gallant volunteers for their help.
The next feature was Braunston Tunnel and then Braunston locks, at which we were once again assisted by vollies. We saw friends from Brinklow aboard their lovely boat Venice and had a long moan about – well – everything going on the in the world today! And as we passed through Braunston, we noticed the iron bridge over the entrance to the Marina had been painted and was looking very spruced – as was the brickwork. I believe it was achieved by a generous legacy from a local and will be renamed Peter’s Bridge in his memory. Thank you Peter.
We had high hopes of lunch from the Gongoozlers Rest cafe boat, just by the Marina but it was not open. I’m not sure we’ve ever found it open to be honest! Just unlucky, I guess.
After Braunston, there were only 3 more locks to do before we got home to Brinklow – although they were unlikely to be tackled until Sunday, because wall to wall rain was promised all day on Saturday. Tsk.
As luck would have it, it wasn’t quite as rainy as the forecast had suggested, so we decided we’d at least get the locks out of the way. Ironically, just as I popped my head out on deck, it started a very fine drizzle. But it didn’t last long. Trade was quite brisk at the locks and we waited until a boat came up and slipped into the lock he had vacated. There were vollies on, which was a bonus. One of the locks on the middle pair was out of action. Paul thought it might have been as a result of a boat strike?
By the time we had got to the bottom, the rain had stopped and I managed to get a couple of good shots of the Orchids that are growing in a protected area there. I think it was a Southern Marsh Orchid – but as there are 10 or more purple orchids native to this country, it’s anyone’s guess! Very pretty though. I also took a pic of the tiny Ivy Leaved Toadflax, growing on the lock wall, The lock walls are fascinating – you spend a lot of time looking at them on a flight!
As we moored up, just out of sight of the bottom lock, the sun came out again, but that was us done for the day. Paul had a lot of work to do on Electrika and some challenging copy dates to meet, so he was immediately head down and beavering away.
We were quite near the trainline and it was noticeable during the day but was much less intrusive at night. Well – I slept very well! and felt refreshed and ready to face to final leg of this trip – back to our home base in Brinklow. And it was quite busy today – we reckon it was the most boats we’d ever seen on the stretch.
The weather was a bit miz, although not actually raining and cold enough for Paul to don his fleece. And when we arrived at Brinklow, we were in a train of 3 boats coming into the Marina – one before us and one after us. And Brinklow lived up to its “Blowy Brinklow” reputation. I don’t think we’ve ever berthed here without it being blowing a hooley!
But we are back – and next week sees Paul off to Le Mans and me catching up on some sewing. It’ll be a luxury not to have to clear up every night and spread out on Paul’s desk. I’ll also be a bit lonely, though. When we were younger, he was away on business a great deal, often spending every other week in Italy, attending trade Shows, site visits etc. – but these days we are rarely, if ever, apart. Still – he deserves this treat and I hope they have a grand time.
We shall be out again for the following weekend (19-21 Jun) as we welcome the Robertsons back for their first visit this year. And now I’ll leave you with a picture of this magnificent chap, doing his job in a field full of young heifers
| Period | Miles | Locks |
| 1st to 7th June | 30 | 16 |
| Cumulative 2026 | 146 | 57 |