Hedgerow Jottings: Boat Jam and Pickled Onions

Watford Locks

Morning Jotters

Don’t you just love a rainy Monday morning? We got up late, pottered around, drinking coffee and watching the procession of boats passing us by. Pat and Malc were still moored next door and neither of us were in a hurry to move so it was early afternoon before we waved goodbye to them as they set off towards Napton. The sun came out and the boat traffic thinned out a bit so we set off too, heading towards Braunston. We were picking up our visitors, Ian and Di, the next morning for a cruise towards Rugby, a picnic lunch and an slow chug back for dinner at ‘The Boat House’. What could possibly go wrong!

Working Pair at Braunston

We were all shipshape and ready for inspection on Tuesday morning when our guests arrived, loaded with goodies (home made bread and pickled onions, home grown rhubarb, lettuce and tomatoes - yummy). We set off up the towpath towards the marina and had breakfast in the little garden by the Gongoozlers Rest - bacon butties never tasted so good! Back down the towpath and it’s ‘All aboard the Skylark’ for our little jaunt. Carl and Ian stood ready to cast off, but there was a constant stream of boats coming by, making it difficult to get going. I walked to the next bridge to see what was coming and waved them on when there was a suitable gap and hopped on as they glided by. Finally! We’re off! Except we were stuck behind a Black Prince boat, who sounded like he was flat out but was crawling along at a snails pace. I went up front and called to them that they had something on their prop. It took a bit of sign language to get them to give it hard reverse, to try to clear their prop but eventually, they gave up and pulled over. Carl knocked the throttle up a gear and we raced by (if you can call 4mph racing). The next boat we came up behind was tootling along on tick over and with so many boats coming the other way, we had no option but to follow behind - it seemed like a very long 5 miles to our destination - the winding hole just before Hillmorton Locks. We hoped to make better progress going back but we soon caught up with another BOTO (Boat On TickOver) and crawled along behind him too. I had planned to moor at Olney on the way back, for a lazy picnic lunch but by the time we turned, it was way past lunchtime. We ate as we cruised along in the sunshine and arrived back in Braunston just as a convenient mooring spot was vacated, that was lucky. We rounded the day off with supper in the Boat House pub and it was the perfect end to a lovely day. Come back soon Ian and Di and don’t forget the pickled onions!

Ian and Di are glad to be back on dry land!

I couldn’t wait to get going on Wednesday morning, we slipped off before anyone was up, past the Gongoozler's Rest and started up the Braunston broad locks before Zoe Ball started her screeching. There was a work boat at the top of the locks and a gang of workers chatting and supping tea - not much work going on there! We plunged into the depths of Braunston tunnel and Carl threshed along at 14 thousand revs (I know this because I was sitting under the hatch with only the instrument panel and Tricky for company). It was all going so well until we got to Watford Locks! A queue of boats stretched ahead of us and disappeared around the corner, we were 6th in line and would be waiting here until the 6 boats already on their way down from the top, got through. I set off up the locks with my windlass and made myself useful, opening and closing paddles and gates to help the boats down so that we could get up the locks before they closed. Boating in the summertime does have its disadvantages and Boat Jams are one of them. We didn't mind the waiting, it was a pleasant couple of hours chatting to passing boaters and the very busy Volunteers. They were buzzing up and down, directing operations, working the locks and still managing to smile. A couple of them were painting the marker posts and it looked like hard work with all their protective gear on. I reflected to myself that the unpaid volunteers seemed to be working much harder than the paid ones. Once we'd got to the top, we pressed on through Crick tunnel and found miles of free mooring by the marina and settled in for a cosy evening, disturbed only by the very occasional boat passing by. A far cry from Braunston where we were continually getting clattered as boats tried to pass us – that will teach us to moor by the water point! More painting for Carl.

Early start

The summit pound from Watford to Crick is very rural and, because of the restrictions on the lock opening hours, not too busy. We have dallied along from one idyllic mooring to the next, enjoying the cooler weather and the noticeable changing of the seasons, as autumn approaches. The hedges are speckled with blackberries, not yet ripe but promising their juicy sweetness in a few weeks. The fields are busy with machinery as the farmers race to gather in the harvest, leaving behind giant rolls of straw and stubble fields thick with black crows. I love the long summer days but already I am looking forward to the cosy evenings, when we light the stove and hunker down with our books and a glass of something warming.

Braunston Top Lock

We should be arriving in Market Harborough sometime this week, its one of our favourite canals and we will probably be spending a couple of weeks floating around between Foxton and the town moorings. Carl has some rust to banish and I have brass to polish ( it has been sadly neglected and I am put to shame after visiting Naga Queen - their brass and copper gleamed!)

Have a great week and I’ll be back soon with more Hedgerow Jottings

Take Care

The Floating Chandlers

Ps We do see some great boat names and the prize this week goes to ‘Filthy Oar’. A beautiful boat with a memorable name.

Gongoozler's Rest

Pps Their are some great holiday cottages on the canal but the most memorable must be the Crooked Cottage on the Braunston Locks. I can never resist taking a photo every time we pass by.

The Crooked Cottage

Ppps Met the very talented Charlotte, who runs a pair of working boats and sells her painted wares along the way. Thanks for my ‘Blackbird’ Charlotte - I hope we meet again somewhere along the way.